Benson snags Whitmer endorsement at post-primary event, positioning herself as a party unifier

The day after Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson took home a resounding primary victory in her bid to be Michigan’s next governor, the woman who she hopes to succeed, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, came out to endorse her at a campaign event in Lansing.

Whitmer emphasized the victories that her administration, which Benson has been a part of, has won over the last eight years in power, specifically highlighting free breakfast and lunch for all public school students, free pre-K, and free community college, as well as expansions of reproductive rights and protections for the LGBTQ+ community. 

“We solved problems, and we always, always put Michigan first. Michigan’s next governor needs to build on this progress,” Whitmer said. “Can you imagine if we go from one administration to another that continues the work instead of undoes it? Michigan needs a fighter, someone who gets it, someone who will wake up every day and work her tail off to cut costs and put more money in your pocket.”

Benson thanked Whitmer for her support, recognizing that when they first ran together in 2018, “a lot of people thought it was impossible to see more than one woman leading our state.”

Benson is now the top of the ticket for a Democratic slate that saw deep divisions in the primaries, especially in the contentious U.S. Senate primary between Abdul El-Sayed, who won the nomination, and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, who Whitmer had endorsed in the primary. Now, Benson faces the challenge of unifying the party behind the candidates chosen in Tuesday’s election and driving turnout among supporters in November, a key point that she emphasized at the event.

“I intend to be a unifier, but I think if you actually listen to what we’re all saying, we’re all talking about the same things,” Benson said to reporters following the event. “That’s what everyone’s talking about in different ways: putting money back in our pocket, getting money out of politics, healthcare for all. That’s stuff we all can agree on. We’re all going to be talking about it because we recognize that’s also what the people of Michigan want us to be doing, want us to be delivering on, and I think you’ll see Democrats proudly champion that message together, unified as one ticket.”

Whitmer and Benson also both criticized U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Township), the Republican nominee for governor, who will face Benson in the general election. James, in his victory speech and in campaign materials leading up to the primary, has claimed that Democrats, including Benson, are pushing an agenda of “socialism,” which he has said is an evil that he wants to defeat. 

Asked about that framing of her platform, Benson said to reporters, “I think the only thing evil is when leaders claim to work for the people, but then they don’t.”

Whitmer also hit James on his effectiveness as a lawmaker, saying that he is “like a fancy sports car in a Michigan winter, looks real sharp parked in the driveway, but the second there’s slush on the road, no help at all.”

“He likes to talk tough in 30-second commercials, but when he gets to Washington, he turns out to be just like every other Republican in D.C. with no backbone,” she continued. “The second party bosses or the DeVos donors demand a vote to cut healthcare or to raise prices on working families. He folds like a lawn chair.”

Meanwhile, Benson contrasted herself, especially in her response to President Donald Trump — who endorsed James in the primary election — and his administration’s efforts to force her department to turn over Michigan’s voter rolls. Whitmer received pushback at the start of Trump’s second term after a visit to the Oval Office that some Democrats saw as taking too soft a stance against him.

“Time and time again, we all as leaders have chances to show who we are, and he has shown us who he is and who he prioritizes,” Benson said. “It’s not the people of Michigan. It’s himself, his donors and Donald Trump, sometimes even at the expense of Michigan families. I’ll tell you, that makes me angry because I know when I see in the eyes of Michiganders all across the state, Democrats, independents and Republicans, what they need, they need leaders who are thinking about them, their kids, their future when they come to Lansing.”