FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2025
Press Contact: Austin Clark, (989) 255-7994, [email protected]
[Detroit, MI] – Today, Michigan native Aghogho Edevbie announced he is running for Secretary of State. The son of Nigerian immigrants, Aghogho has been the Deputy Secretary of State since 2023. Prior to being named Deputy Secretary of State, Aghogho was the Michigan State
Director for All Voting is Local, a non-partisan group that was one of the leading organizations behind the passage of Proposal 2 in 2022, which established early voting and ensured we have free and fair elections.
Aghogho announced he’s running in an online video and said, “I’m running for Secretary of State because when it comes to defending our Democracy – it’s time to get to work. We’ve shown that we can make voting easier, that we can make the Secretary of State’s office run better, and that we can work on behalf of everyone in our state – no matter who you are or where you live. But there’s more work to do.”
Aghogho kicks off his campaign with a number of early endorsements. UNITE HERE Local 24, which represents over 6000 members who work in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation, and airport industries in Michigan, has endorsed his candidacy as has State Representatives Donovan McKinney, Joey Andrews, Emily Dievendorf, Jimmie Wilson, Tonya Myers Phillips and Amos O’Neal. He also has the support of former State Representative Rachel Hood. Aghogho’s full list of endorsements can be found on his website.
UNITEHERE Local 24 President Joe Daugherty called Aghogho “a strong leader with the experience necessary to protect our democracy”. “Aghogho has spent his career working to make voting easier and more accessible in Michigan”, State Representative Amos O’Neal added, “He’s the right person for the job”.
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About Aghogho Edevbie:
Born and raised in Detroit, Aghogho Edevbie is the son of Nigerian immigrants who taught him when there’s work to do, we get going. His dad spent 35 years as a union man at the Detroit Water Department, and his mom is a nurse who cares for thousands in our community.
Aghogho’s parents came to Michigan in search of a better life and Aghogho grew up hearing the story of his mom and grandfather, waiting in an endless line to vote in Nigeria’s first presidential election. When his mom wanted to give up and go home, his grandfather told her that voting was their civic duty. They were going to stay, and they were going to vote.
This lesson has stayed with Aghogho—that voting is our collective duty, and our democracy is something each of us must protect.
While studying law at University of Michigan, Aghogho started working as an election protection lawyer and a poll challenger every election cycle. By 2020, Aghogho was Michigan State Director of one of the nation’s leading voter rights and protection groups, All Voting Is Local. There, he helped lead the fight to pass Proposal 2—giving every Michigan voter access to early voting, a drop box in every community, the right to return their absentee ballot free of charge, and guaranteeing their votes would be certified in a free and fair election.
After being appointed Deputy Secretary of State, he helped implement the promises of Proposal 2, and has continued making voting easier, so that casting a ballot isn’t a chore but a moment of empowerment. Michigan was once ranked 31st for election administration. Now, it’s ranked 2nd in the country.
Aghogho, who lives in Detroit with his wife Erin, has also worked to make the day-to-day experience of government as efficient as possible. He’s helped to put services online to save Michiganders a trip to the Secretary of State’s office and made sure that if they still decide to make a trip, they can get in and out of a branch within 30 minutes. Putting people first and making Government work is why Aghogho is running for Secretary of State.
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The next Michigan Secretary of State will be elected in November 2026. The major political parties will likely nominate their candidates through endorsement conventions in April 2026.
