Joyce Gipson

Joyce Gipson

Republican Party

Candidate, Governor of Michigan

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 3, 2026

Education

High school

Decatur Junior Senior High School

Bachelor's

Andrews University, 1990

Personal

Birthplace

Decatur, Mich.

Religion

Pentecostal

Profession

Advocate

Contact

Campaign website

Personal Facebook

Joyce Gipson (Republican Party) is running for election for Governor of Michigan. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Gipson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Joyce Gipson was born in Decatur, Michigan. She graduated from Decatur Junior Senior High School. She earned a bachelor's degree from Andrews University in 1990. Her career experience includes working as an advocate.

Elections

2026

See also: Michigan gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Governor of Michigan

The following candidates are running in the general election for Governor of Michigan on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Jocelyn Benson (D)
		Garlin Gilchrist II (D)
		Marni Sawicki (D)
	Submit photo	Chris Swanson (D)
		Mike Cox (R)
		Joyce Gipson (R)
		Anthony Hudson (R)
		John James (R)
		Tom Leonard (R)
		Aric Nesbitt (R)
		Evan Space (R)
	Submit photo	Karla Wagner (R)
		Mike Duggan (Independent)

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
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Endorsements

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Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Joyce Gipson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gipson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Hi, my name is Joyce Gipson. I grew up in Decatur Michigan, as a poor family we were a happy bunch. After graduating from Decatur High, I went to Southwestern College for my associates degree. Later I returned to Andrew’s University to get my bachelors degree. As your Governor, I will fight, with wisdom, in prayer, and in Jesus name.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Our Freedom of Speech. I will fight to protect the unborn stop Michigan tax dollars paying for abortions in our state, and for neighboring states.
• I will fight for our children stop boys in girls sports, and the sex mutilation of our youth.
• I will fight for veterans and our seniors. Let’s talk Michigan, I will fight for you.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Abortion, exploitation of our children, and the general welfare of our veterans.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Not at this time.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Awareness, and empathy.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Spending Michigan Tax Dollars.

What legacy would you like to leave?

The legacy I would like to leave would be that I'm not just a good person but that I was Christ like.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was a page at the local library. I was their for a year.

Governors have many responsibilities, which vary from state to state. Which of those do you personally consider the most important in your state?

This is my platform. But I have big plans for our state.

Different states require governors to have different degrees of responsibility for the state budgeting process. If it were your choice, what do you believe is the appropriate degree of gubernatorial involvement with this process in your state?

I believe that the governor can make a lot of decrees but it is up to Michigan to accept or decline what I want to enforce.

In most states, governors have the power to make line-item vetoes. If that is true in your state, what would be your philosophy for how and when to use this power?

Again, I don't know of the severity of these issues, but I would go to Michigan to make decisions.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

According to our founding fathers, there is a check and balances through the government.

What do you love most about your state?

I see the strength of our families.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Our future with our children.

Tell us your favorite joke.

My favorite joke would be a young boy was in a church and he was looking at the wall of members. So the pastor walks by and he tells the boy that all the people on that wall died in service. The young boy answered him; sir was that the 9 o'clock or the 11 o'clock.

Under what circumstances should the governor of your state be able to use emergency powers?

When and where there is no consensus or there is a draw.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Like any good candidate, I see accountability as a priority, but I want to take it beyond that, I want transparency in all of my actions or decisions. I want you to know what I stand for and I want you to know from the start.

Do you support or oppose changes to the current state ballot initiative process? If so, what kind of changes would you consider?

I don't know, I don't have an issue with our current state ballot initiative process so I would guess that I support our current process.

A governor is the top executive authority in his or her state. What does that mean to you?

To me it means responsibility. I like the responsibility of the authority and I take on this position with seriousness and importance. Michigan has been forgotten and I want to bring back its intentions in every one of us starting from the youngest on up.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.

See also

2026 Elections

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External links

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Candidate

Governor of Michigan

Website

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Facebook

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