STERLING HEIGHTS, Michigan — James Craig, the recently retired Detroit police chief who has served in law enforcement for the past four decades, will soon announce that he is seeking the Republican Party’s nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2022.

Craig, who formed an exploratory committee in July, said he is spending his time traveling to all corners of the state, in particular to its forgotten poor urban neighborhoods and rural enclaves — places whose needs and problems are often overlooked.