On Nov. 3, Michiganders will elect our state’s next governor, a more fraught prospect than it’s ever been. Michigan is a battleground state in more ways than one, ground zero for economic disruption, languishing schools and declining population; our partisan divide has deepened, and trust in our leaders has hit an all-time low.
More often than not, voters here have placed pragmatism above politics. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, and former Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, both campaigned on promises to deliver what Michiganders needed the most. Most of the time, what Michiganders need is simply for our state to work.
Voters choosing between Democrat Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s secretary of state, and Republican John James, who has represented
the 10th District in the U.S. House since 2022, must consider which of the two can deliver.
We believe it’s JOCELYN BENSON.
Benson is a quietly competent technocrat and an operational powerhouse. Unlike many of her political peers, she is deeply interested in the nuts and bolts of effective governing, measured by service for her constituents. It ought not to be remarkable, and yet it is distinctive.
Consider: During Benson’s tenure as secretary of state, interactions with that office have transformed. Most secretary of state services can now be handled online. For the few tasks that require an office visit, the online appointment system Benson launched has made an hours-long nightmare an in-and-out errand.
Or Benson’s oversight of Michigan’s transition from in-person to mail-in and early voting. In 2018, a whopping majority of us voted to approve those changes, and the COVID-19 pandemic hastened adoption of the practice. By 2024, 60% of Michiganders were casting ballots before Election Day, a sweeping transition implemented so smoothly that it’s hard to remember what a tectonic shift it was.
She makes systems work, and we’re eager to see that talent applied to state government at large.
Among Democrats, technocrats are a rare breed – Republicans tend to favor numbers guys and data nerds who aim to shrink government, not make it work better.
And unlike some data-driven leaders, Benson pairs a penchant for numbers and measurable outcomes with compassion and care for the Michiganders she represents, not least because as the mother of a school-aged child, she sees clearly what's at stake stake in our state’s future.
Why Jocelyn Benson?
The first item on our next governor’s to-do list must be education.
Michigan, once a firmly middle-of-the-pack state, now sits near the bottom of national rankings. It’s a compounding problem, with tendrils in our economy, our population decline, social justice and the health of our cities.
This decline has happened on the watch of both Democratic and Republican governors. Michigan’s governor doesn’t have direct control of our schools, but she’ll set the state’s educational priorities, and her budget determines how much the state allocates per pupil.
What has happened in the last 30 years? Investment in our schools has declined at a higher rate than any other state, and Michigan schools have been a test lab for radical education policies intended to weaken the public school system, pushed by west Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos, a primary backer of James’ campaign.
Benson has a five-point program for improving our schools, policy modeled, she says, on every state at the top of our national rankings – Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi.
She wants to raise teacher pay and fund schools relative to student need, an education reform called “weighted funding.”
She plans to expand pre-K and childcare offerings along with programs like Rx Kids, which offers cash payments to new parents. Benson supports experiential learning for younger students, and science-backed curriculum for all ages.
It’s a significant investment, which Benson says can be funded substantially by ensuring that the taxes Michiganders pay for education are spent on schools – governors of both parties have tapped School Aid Fund revenues for universities and community colleges, with the largest transfer in state history in Whitmer’s 2026 budget.
She plans to create an education cabinet that will craft a statewide strategy and also develop metrics to measure the outcomes of the changes she’s proposing, recalibrating to ensure that her investments are working.
Why it's not John James
John James, a two-term congressman and military veteran whose family owns a Detroit logistics business, also names education as his top priority.
But his proposed solutions are dogmatic, not pragmatic: James, 45, is a proponent of school choice, the canard pushed by DeVos. James says he’d endorse a controversial Trump program to divert tax dollars to private school tuition, stripping yet more money from our public schools, where funding is determined almost exclusively by enrollment.
There’s no evidence that school choice improves educational outcomes, and ample proof to the contrary. And it’s no coincidence that Michigan’s school decline mirrors the unfettered choice DeVos and James sell as the solution to Michigan’s problems. Free market principles just don’t work in education, no matter how much DeVos wishes it were so.
It’s no surprise that James has bought into the choice fallacy whole cloth: The DeVos family has funded his campaign to the tune of $5 million.
The rest of James’ positions range from tired – the GOP boilerplate of cutting regulations and taxes, a disastrous hallmark of Snyder’s tenure in office – to outrageous and out of touch.
James appears to believe Michigan is riddled with waste, fraud and abuse, including a payroll with ghost employees and an epidemic of noncitizen voting. Waste, fraud and abuse should be investigated, but never generates significant savings – witness Elon Musk’s failed federal DOGE operation.
James’ campaign website is full of calls for audits and investigations of everything from the state budget (already routinely audited by the Michigan Office of the Auditor General) to COVID-19 era restrictions. James proposes an “independent commission” that seems to threaten consequences for emergency orders issued during the pandemic while offering vaguely defined restitution to Michiganders who suffered under pandemic restrictions.
It’s in vogue among GOP lawmakers to propose elimination of the state income tax, knocking a $13 billion hole in state revenue. How does James propose to backfill that sum? By rooting out waste, fraud and abuse, of course.
James, who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2020 and lost to U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, has said both he and President Donald Trump got “screwed” in that election, later telling the Detroit Free Press Editorial Board that "COVID was used as an excuse to circumvent the existing election law."
On some important issues, James is deeply out of step with most Michiganders. He referred to abortion as "genocide," in 2018 said he opposes abortion even in cases of rape or incest and in 2022 praised the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Prop 3, enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution, passed in 2022 with 56% of the vote, drawing support even from many Michigan Republicans.
But James’ most confounding trait is his inconsistency.
James is a devotee of deeply unpopular President Donald Trump, who has endorsed him. When asked this summer if he disagreed with the president on any points, James told the editorial board: “He likes Big Macs. I like Reubens.” But James also insists he’s his own man.
James spoke as a seasoned statesman in the endorsement interview, measured and capable; on the campaign trail, he’s a fiery partisan and at times conspiracy theorist.
James is out of touch, and just can’t match Benson in expertise, talent, temperament or connection to Michiganders.
What Benson says she'll do
Benson, 48, lives in Detroit with husband Ryan Friedrichs and their 10-year-old son. She became Michigan secretary of state in 2018, and was reelected in 2022 with 56% of the vote, two points ahead of Whitmer, one of the nation's most popular governors.
Benson has held executive roles for two decades, serving as dean of the Wayne State University Law School and as CEO of the philanthropic Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality.
Her plans to transform government don’t stop at education.
She believes state government can and should become more efficient, but streamlined in service of function and return on taxpayer investment. That’s in contrast to her Republican peers, who often impose cuts simply because they believe government should be smaller.
Benson says she’ll commission a deep dive into the state revenue, an important step in understanding our state’s financial position and how to bolster it.
On affordability, the top concern for most voters this election cycle, Benson proposes to strike deals with Canada to exempt Michigan industry and consumers from Trump’s tariffs. She plans to bolster down payment assistance, especially for workers like nurses and teachers, who often can’t afford homes in the communities they serve. She wants to expand the childcare tax credit, add a $5,000 credit for Michiganders who are caring for aging parents, and close loopholes in the tax code that favor the wealthy – like a fuel-tax exemption for private aircraft.
She says her success should be measured not just via inflation and wage data, but whether her administration’s policies actually helped Michiganders.
It goes almost without saying that a Governor Benson would stand firm against the excesses of the Trump administration. As secretary of state, she’s rebuffed Trump’s efforts to seek Michiganders’ confidential voter data and defended the integrity of our elections. She’s staunchly pro-choice and pro-LGBTQ+ rights, and says she will seek additional protections for immigrants.
Data centers, she says, should only site in Michigan with strong community benefits agreements that include environmental protections and water-use standards, with more transparency and always subject to local decision-making. (Benson's husband is a vice president at data center developer Related Digital, but no longer works on Michigan projects. Benson says she expects Friedrichs to step further away from Related if she is elected.)
A clear choice
Michigan needs government that works – whether it’s education, service delivery, health care ‒ and a chief executive who will guard against federal overreach.
Competence matters. Benson has it.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Freep endorsement in governor race: Jocelyn Benson vs. John James
