Lansing — Democratic candidate for governor Jocelyn Benson is expected to pick state Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks as her running mate, according to four sources with knowledge of the plans.
The sources declined to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the behind-the-scenes lieutenant governor deliberations.
Benson, Michigan’s current secretary of state, has a press conference scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday in Grand Rapids, the city that Brinks, Michigan’s first-ever female majority leader of the Senate, has represented in the Legislature since 2013. An invitation sent to Democrats described the function as a “special event.”
A spokeswoman for the Benson campaign declined to comment.
Last week, Republican candidate for governor John James chose state Rep. Jay DeBoyer of St. Clair County as his running mate. In Michigan, the lieutenant governor is the president of the Senate and can help usher a governor’s legislative agenda through the Capitol.
The Detroit News previously reported that Benson was considering former state Sen. Jim Ananich of Flint and current Sen. Sarah Anthony of Lansing as other potential lieutenant governor candidates. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak was also discussed as a potential running mate.
Brinks brings someone from west Michigan to the top of the Democratic ticket, which is dominated by people from southeast Michigan
She is the daughter of dairy farmers and Dutch immigrants, according to her Michigan Senate biography. She was first elected to the state House in 2012 and won her seat in the Senate in 2018. Before serving in the Legislature, she was employed by a Grand Rapids nonprofit as a caseworker aimed at improving workplaces.
Brinks initially ran as a write-in candidate in 2012 after the incumbent in her district, Rep. Roy Schmidt, switched parties to join the Republicans and recruited an ally to run for the Democratic nomination. The high-profile 2012 race was her first campaign for public office, but she scored enough write-in votes to be the Democratic candidate in the general election. She defeated Schmidt in November 2012 to take his seat.
Brinks previously described her decade in office as “quite a journey.”
“I’ve been through some really tough election cycles and election races personally,” she said previously. “It gives me a very good taste of what our members have gone through.”
In November 2022, Senate Democrats selected Brinks to be their caucus’s leader for the new four-year term, effectively making her the majority leader.
As the Senate’s leader, Brinks has worked with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the House to pass an array of major new policies, including laws aimed at curbing gun violence, a 2023 tax overhaul and the repeal of right-to-work.
Brinks led a 29-hour-long, marathon Senate session in December 2024 to get dozens of bills to Whitmer’s desk after the House adjourned and before Democrats’ full control of the Legislature was set to end at the conclusion of 2024. Republicans took back control of the House in January 2025.
“I can say with confidence that this caucus came to work every day, trying to do the best they could for their constituents,” Brinks said of Senate Democrats at the time.
cmauger@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Benson expected to pick Michigan Senate leader for her running mate
Reporting by Craig Mauger, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Craig Mauger, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
