Jay DeBoyer isn’t afraid to ask the hard questions of those in power. That’s part of why he’s a great pick by Republican gubernatorial nominee John James to be his running mate on the GOP ticket this November.
James announced DeBoyer, a two-term state representative from Clay Township, as his lieutenant governor candidate last week. Republican delegates will have to approve the pick at a state convention on Aug. 22.
DeBoyer has been a bulldog as chairman on the House Oversight Committee.
Under his leadership, the committee has held hearings on everything from the State Board of Education’s controversial sex ed standards and potential conflicts of interest involving Attorney General Dana Nessel and her connections, to child welfare in the Whitmer administration, election records in the Benson administration, the clumsy rollout of the Michigan Transparency Network under Benson and more.
He’s familiar with Lansing — James, a congressman from Shelby Township, is less so.
DeBoyer knows enough about the mechanics of state government to boost the GOP ticket strategically. But he is not so much a creature of it to be blind to its ills.
DeBoyer has put administration officials on the record, forcing some of Michigan’s most powerful public officials to explain themselves.
Under questioning about the inadequate rollout of the state’s new campaign finance transparency network in 2025, Benson interrupted DeBoyer to say she had been talking to the users.
“As have I, and they are very unsatisfied,” DeBoyer replied to Benson.
“How many genders are there?” DeBoyer asked former Chief Deputy Superintendent Sue Carnell in another 2025 hearing.
“Different people have different beliefs on that,” Carnell replied.
“You’ve had a four-year run. Your budget is gigantic. And we have kids sleeping on mattresses on the ground,” DeBoyer said to former Michigan Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel during a 2025 hearing on child welfare cases and the state’s role in mental health and food assistance programs.
“We write tickets to people who let their dogs live in that condition in the wintertime,” DeBoyer also said to Hertel about living conditions unchecked by the child welfare system.
DeBoyer can cut through the noise and press a strong case. That has served him and the residents of Michigan well in the Legislature.
DeBoyer is a small business owner who is popular with Republican activists and grassroots supporters — whose support the GOP ticket needs.
The pick does come with one obvious political gamble: James passed over the conventional wisdom that might have pointed him toward a woman.
Does it matter?
This election — and for this specific spot next to James — it might not, although how it affects the ticket overall may be a bigger question.
Benson, obviously, is a woman and it’s likely she picks a woman as her running mate as well.
James and DeBoyer bring a different energy than an all-female ticket. But the male-female contrast is already vast, and in that case would be so blatant that perhaps voters can assess ideas and results rather than their gender.
Voters want authenticity, fearlessness and elected leaders who will give them straight answers and work to solve their problems.
Money in politics and corruption are dominant underlying forces driving voter anger and distrust.
James didn’t choose a running mate who checks every box of traditional political wisdom. Whether that proves costly remains to be seen.
But he chose someone with a record of asking uncomfortable questions and refusing to accept an answer simply because of someone’s title. For a ticket asking Michigan voters to put Republicans back in charge of state government, that’s not a bad credential to bring to the table.
kbuss@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: John James picks bulldog for running mate | Buss
Reporting by Kaitlyn Buss, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Kaitlyn Buss, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
