DETROIT, Mich. — Michigan voters have picked Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson as the next governor, handing the Democrat a double-digit win over Republican U.S. Rep. John James in Tuesday’s election.
The race was called for Benson at 1:45 a.m. Wednesday. With roughly 96% of the expected vote tallied by early morning, Benson held 54.5% to 43.8% for James, a lead of more than 500,000 votes. Her margin stayed near 11 points for most of the overnight count.
Benson spoke after 1 a.m. to a packed room of supporters in Detroit, telling them her priorities would be fighting corruption and bringing down costs for families.
The result keeps the governor’s office under Democratic control. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer could not run again because of term limits and has held the job for eight years. Benson is set to take the oath as Michigan’s 50th governor on Jan. 1, 2027, with Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks of Grand Rapids, her pick for lieutenant governor, joining her.
Benson has led the Secretary of State’s office since 2019 and ran Michigan’s elections in 2020 and 2024. She drew national attention for standing behind the 2020 results when President Donald Trump and his allies challenged them after he lost the state.
On the campaign trail she pitched herself as someone who had already overhauled one state agency and could do the same across state government. Her platform centered on affordability, with housing named a top priority, along with election security, school funding and easier access to health care. She also called the state Department of Health and Human Services too complicated and out of date and pledged to fix it.
James addressed Republicans late Tuesday at a downtown Detroit watch party, saying he was still hopeful as returns came in.
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