Jocelyn Benson beats John James in Michigan governor’s race
Trending
LANSING -- Jocelyn Benson is poised to become Michigan's 50th governor after soundly defeating Republican John James amid a surge of support for Democrats throughout Michigan.
Benson won by nearly 11 percentage points in a wave election that saw Democrats also win full control of the Michigan Legislature.
"In this election, from the western reaches of the Upper Peninsula to downtown Detroit, voters sent a clear message: they want leaders who will fight for them, fight to lower costs, fight to grow our economy, fight the corruption that too often protects the powerful and hurts the people," Benson said in a victory speech in Detroit. "We showed the nation that in our democracy, the power of the people will always rule the day."
Benson will replace term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in January. She bucked history to become the first candidate to succeed a governor from the same political party since Michigan implemented term limits in 1992.
"That means we can expand on the historic progress we've made over the last eight years," Whitmer said in a statement, citing senior tax cuts, free school meals and other policies she's implemented as governor.
But Benson will inherit significant challenges, too, including struggling schools, stagnant population growth and an economy outpaced by neighboring states.
Benson, who tapped state Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks as her running mate, called their election a "win for our young girls who tonight can look up and for the first time in our state's history. see two women leading this state as governor and lieutenant governor."
She and Brinks will "work together every day to ensure that young girls and women always have access to the health care they need and the rights and freedoms they deserve," Benson added.
James, who would have become Michigan's first Black governor, could not overcome national trends and the unpopularity of President Donald Trump, who had endorsed him.
In a message posted to social media Wednesday, James said he had congratulated Benson in a phone call and thanked his supporters, saying "my heart is full" from his experiences in the campaign.
"The potential we have (in Michigan) is amazing," James said. "I look forward to getting back to my first and most important title, and that is husband and dad."
Both candidates pitched a vision of how they'd like to reshape Lansing, from a new funding model for schools to tax cuts and an overhaul of the state's regulatory apparatus.
Benson built her campaign around healthcare and affordability, leaning on her record as secretary as evidence she can make government more efficient and responsive to taxpayers.
"The heart of our campaign ... is costs down, wages up, and fighting for the people of Michigan and ending corruption," Benson told supporters during a campaign-closing bus tour. "As governor, I will work for you -- not the highest bidder, not Donald Trump -- you and the people of this state."
The defeat was the third statewide loss for James, who twice lost US Senate races before winning election to Congress in 2022. He ran for governor instead of seeking re-election in his Macomb County district.
James had cast his candidacy as an opportunity for change in Lansing, arguing eight years of Democratic leadership is to blame for Michigan's trajectory.
"Don't let anybody tell you that affordability alone is what you should strive for, but prosperity is what you should strive for. Right now, we have people dumbing it down, saying that we should just accept just getting by," James said in an October speech to supporters.
"We're not going to accept getting by because the American dream is our birthright, and greatness is in our DNA. We just need leadership who believes in you as much as I do."
The gubernatorial candidates have had to campaign in the shadow of a behemoth nationally-watched US Senate race that's seen vastly more spending and complicated their efforts to reach voters.
Benson's counterpart in the Senate race, Abdul El-Sayed, ran a substantially more progressive campaign, while Trump -- who faces nearly 60% disapproval in Michigan -- repeatedly inserted himself into state politics and told Michiganders to vote "like I'm on the ballot."
The president's presence made James' tightrope all the more tenuous. He rallied with Trump and courted his support while trying to turn voters' attention back to Michigan-specific issues.
"We're losing our kids, and y'all are focusing on some dude in Washington, D.C. that's going to be done in two years? We are smarter than that," James told reporters after the second gubernatorial debate.