There were those who said Virg Bernero couldn't win.

"A lot of polling said Bernero didn't have the name recognition outside of Lansing," Bill Ballenger of Inside Michigan Politics said.

"I can't remember the last time a gubernatorial candidate didn't run a single TV ad on their own, and he didn't," Bill Rustem of Public Sector Consultants said.

But Tuesday's outcome proved otherwise.

"A lot of people count me out, I'm used to it," Bernero said Wednesday. "I like being the underdog."

On the other side -- Rick Snyder -- didn't have any prior political experience, but in the end, this business man beat out four other politicians for the republican nomination.

"Rick Snyder ended up winning by a bigger margin than anyone would have thought," Ballenger said.

So what now? Where do these two one-time underdogs go from here? Political experts said they've got to get down to business right away defining themselves and their message, especially appealing to those undecided voters.

"At the end of the day, it's the independents who are going to determine who wins this race," Rustem said.

Bernero spent Wednesday in Detroit talking with reporters and voters.

"I look forward to putting my message out there and contrasting it with Rick Snyder's," Bernero said. " Mine is main street agenda, Snyder's is a Wall street agenda."

Snyder joined with other republicans for a unity luncheon Wednesday. He said his next step is creating an A-team and finding a running mate.

Rustem said it will be non-stop campaigning for both men until November.

"They each have three months now and they have to go out and convince voters they can set a new course and a new direction for Michigan," Rustem said.