Michigan gubernatorial candidates make final push before primary
By Elyse Apel | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – With just 11 days until Michigan’s primary election, the state’s many gubernatorial candidates are making their final pushes to win voters.
On the Democrat side, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is preparing to face off against Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.
The establishment has rallied around Benson, with polling showing her garnering upward of 72% of Democratic voters’ support.
Benson has been campaigning to rally support from many key groups in Michigan, including union workers, Black communities, and the Muslim community in and around Dearborn.
“We all deserve a government that saves us time, saves us money, and makes our life easier,” Benson said last week.
The Republican primary race is much more of a toss up as three main candidates vie for voter support.
As the field narrowed, other Republican candidates have been able to rally more support against U.S. Rep. John James—who was holding a firm lead in polling at the beginning of the year.
Now, the most-recent polling shows James leading with 29.5%, compared to 23% for former state Attorney General Mike Cox, and 21% for businessman Perry Johnson. This is according to an average of two recent polls, both from June, compiled by 270toWin.
Cox will still appear on the ballot despite formally suspending his campaign last week. Republican voters will also see state Sen. Aric Nesbitt on their primary ballots, though he has also suspended his campaign.
“Conservative warriors, it’s time to show up,” James wrote on social media Friday morning. “President Trump endorsed our campaign. Now it’s time to turn that momentum into votes.”
On both sides of the aisle, the race has narrowed significantly from the beginning of the year as candidates have slowly dropped out. Just months ago, there were over a dozen candidates running.
Benson has served as secretary of state since her election in 2018. Prior to that, she worked as an attorney and as dean of Wayne State University Law School.
In her role as Michigan’s chief elections official, Benson has been vocal in her opposition to the Trump administration.
Over the past year, she has received significant backlash from state Republicans over everything from election integrity concerns to her past involvement with the Southern Poverty Law Center following a federal indictment against the organization.
Just last week, Cox filed a lawsuit against Benson saying her office has failed to produce records regarding the Southern Poverty Law Center controversy following a Freedom of Information Act request.
James was first elected to the U.S. House in 2022, after two unsuccessful campaigns for U.S. Senate in 2018 and 2020, and for governor in 2022.
A veteran and businessman, James is running on a “Freedom Agenda.” His platform prioritizes ethics reform and transparency, ending fraud and waste, and passing a parents’ bill of rights.
“It is my great honor to endorse America First Congressman John James, who is running to become the next governor of the beautiful state of Michigan!” Trump wrote on social media in June. “John James has my complete and total endorsement to be the next governor of Michigan – he will not let you down!”
According to the popular prediction betting market Kalshi, James has a 90% chance of winning the Republican primary.
The most-recent polling has Benson winning against all of the three potential Republican candidates in the general election, though the last poll was done in June.
In recent elections, Michigan has solidified its position as a swing state, with a recent report from The Center for Politics rating Michigan’s gubernatorial race as leaning Democrat.
“We are making Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the likely Democratic nominee, a favorite to succeed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer by moving that race from toss-up to leans Democratic,” it said.
Elyse Apel, a graduate of Hillsdale College, is a reporter for The Center Square covering Minnesota and Michigan. Her work has appeared in a range of national outlets, including the Washington Examiner, The American Spectator, and The Daily Wire.