Warren — A high-profile fight to be Michigan’s next governor between Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and U.S. Rep. John James kicked off Wednesday with Democrats touting their backers’ energy and Republicans promoting unity within their party.
A day earlier, Democratic voters gave Benson of Detroit a resounding victory, with 83% of the support, over Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, who had 17%. GOP primary voters picked James of Shelby Township over businessman Perry Johnson of Bloomfield Hills. James got 50% of the vote to Johnson’s 35%.
The results set up a general election race between a Democrat who’s been elected statewide twice and a Republican who’s won a battleground U.S. House district twice and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate two times, but who did better than prior GOP candidates.
Speaking to Republicans at a unity lunch in Warren, James said Wednesday “marks Michigan’s comeback.”
“Jocelyn Benson promises a new direction,” James said. “But she’s been part of the failed leadership that got us lost.”
However, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, said the national group is “all in” for Benson during a Wednesday event at a Southfield sheet metal workers union hall.
Benson pushed back on the idea of disagreement within the Democratic Party about its direction after progressive Abdul El-Sayed won a close race for the U.S. Senate nomination against U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham.
“There’s a lot of alignment in what everyone is talking about and what all who won yesterday are talking about, which is making sure we fix this broken system that has created an economy that has priced out far too many to stretch people too thin,” Benson said. “Too many folks, frankly, on both sides of the aisle are having to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet.
“But we need leaders who will actually change that, and I think that’s what overwhelmingly people voted for yesterday.”
Michigan’s current governor, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer, has held the state’s top office since January 2019. She can’t run again this year because of term limits.
Michigan hasn’t had a governor be followed by a member of their own party since Republican George Romney resigned in 1969 and his lieutenant governor, Republican Bill Milliken, was sworn in.
That trend will collide with the pattern of the party holding the White House usually struggling in its first midterm election. Republican President Donald Trump is now in the second year of his final term.
In Tuesday’s primary, about 1.5 million ballots were cast in the Democratic primary for governor, but only about 930,000 were submitted in the Republican primary for governor. That represented an uncommon difference in the two parties’ turnouts, said Richard Czuba, a pollster and founder of the Lansing-based Glengariff Group.
“It goes to what we’ve been seeing in all of our polling,” Czuba said. “Republicans are simply not as motivated as Democrats and independents in this election.”
In the 2010 primary, GOP voting outpaced Democrats’ votes ahead of big wins for the Republicans in November.
GOP says it’s unified for November
There was a standing ovation as James took the stage inside the Andiamo restaurant in Warren on Wednesday. Hundreds of Republicans attended the so-called unity event organized by GOP U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers.
In his remarks, James, who was endorsed by Trump, touted his business experience, describing himself as a change agent compared with Democrats’ eight-year hold on the governor’s office.
“Michigan is on fire,” he said and then referred to his military service as an Army helicopter pilot in Iraq. “I’ve always run toward the fire. This November the choice will be clear: We offer freedom. They offer socialism. We offer change. They offer continued decline.”
He cited Michigan’s reading scores, questioning why schools hadn’t improved despite large investments by state lawmakers.
The results of the 2025 Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, known as M-STEP, showed 38.9% of third-graders and 42.4% of fourth-graders statewide scored proficient on the state’s English language arts test, down from the prior year’s scores of 39.6% and 43.3%, respectively. Reading scores for grades 5, 6, 7 and 8 improved slightly, according to the Michigan Department of Education.
The percentage of third graders scoring proficient on Michigan’s reading assessment test has declined from 49.9% in 2015 to 38.9% in 2025. Third-grade reading proficiency is a key indicator for future academic success and high school graduation rates, according to experts.
More than $811 million has been spent by the state government on literacy initiatives since 2019 under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat who ran on improving literacy.
During his campaign, James, 45, has often focused on Michigan’s education system, contending that he’s the best GOP option to lead the Republican ticket against Democrats in November.
Leslie Bowers, a 48-year-old gymnastics coach who voted at the St. James Catholic Church in Novi on Tuesday, supported James and said the gubernatorial race was the most important contest for her.
“I was just looking at stances on family, abortion, how we can protect our freedoms and keep our families healthy and safe,” Bowers said. “John James is who I am behind right now.
“His background and his stance on things seem to align the most with what I agree with.”
Johnson, who made his fortune developing quality controls for the auto industry, spent about $30 million of his own money on his campaign, a deluge of money that kept his commercials on TV for months.
Many of his ads were negative, describing James as a two-time loser and a liberal. Johnson didn’t concede the primary on Tuesday night, didn’t speak on stage at the unity event Wednesday and didn’t appear to be in the crowd.
Vance Patrick, chairman of the Oakland County Republican Party, did participate Wednesday after endorsing Johnson.
Asked if it was a unified party, Patrick said his county party is “100% behind James.”
“I think John has a great opportunity because he’s out there working it,” Patrick said on whether James can win in November.
Former Attorney General Mike Cox, who ran for governor before ending his campaign before the primary, said voters want change.
“Do you trust the people who have been leading you for eight years?” Cox said. “Or do you want to try something different? That’s the easiest message John ought to be talking about every single day.”
Democrats say Benson will lower costs
On the other side of the aisle, Beshear said he wasn’t concerned about the differences in messaging among the Democratic candidates in Michigan.
“Republicans are the party of Trump,” Beshear said. “They are the party for increased prices in groceries through tariffs, increased price of gas through this war in Iran.”
“We’re in this to help you,” he added. “The Republicans right now are in this to hurt you.”
Benson, a former law school dean who’s served as Michigan’s chief election official, was widely expected to prevail in the primary, and her campaign began Tuesday to unveil some of their plans for the fall race.
Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Curtis Hertel said Benson had improved the operations of the Secretary of State’s offices and stood up to Trump as he challenged the results of Michigan’s 2020 election.
“As our next governor, Jocelyn will work to lower health care, utility and housing costs to build an affordable future where everyone can stay and thrive in Michigan,” Hertel vowed.
In Detroit on Tuesday, Mack Willis, 24, of Inkster, campaigned for a Democratic congressional candidate but said he was hoping Benson won the governor’s race.
“I like the truthfulness in all of her words,” Willis said. “And she comes out and touches the people. I’ve seen Ms. Benson out personally a couple of times.”
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Jocelyn Benson, John James draw early battle lines in race for governor
Reporting by Craig Mauger and Summer Ballentine, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Craig Mauger and Summer Ballentine, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
