Democrat Jocelyn Benson won Michigan's governor's race
Democrat Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s secretary of state since 2019, won the state’s governor’s race Tuesday, defeating Republican Rep. John James, according to election projections. Benson will succeed term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Jan. 1, 2027, extending Democratic control of the governor’s office for another four years.
More context
Democrat Jocelyn Benson, Michigan's secretary of state since 2019, won Michigan's governor's race Tuesday, defeating Republican Rep. John James. The Associated Press and NBC News projected the result, and FOX News called the race for Benson. FOX 2 reported she had 54% of the vote. WDIV's partial results showed Benson with 2,155,534 votes to James's 1,795,444, with 66.5% of precincts reporting.
Benson will succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and take office Jan. 1, 2027, as Michigan's 50th governor. NBC News said she will be the first Democrat since the 1960s to succeed a Democratic governor. The candidates clashed over data centers: James accused Benson's family of profiting from a project, which she denied. Benson said James backed policies favorable to data centers while holding stocks in them; James said those stocks were in broad mutual funds.
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Reporting
- NBC News — Democrat Jocelyn Benson wins Michigan governor’s race
- 13abc WTVG Toledo — Democrat Jocelyn Benson projected to win Michigan governor’s race, will succeed Gretchen Whitmer
- WDIV ClickOnDetroit — Michigan has named its next governor. Here’s what she promised on the campaign trail
- wemu.org — Jocelyn Benson defeats John James in Michigan governor's race
- wkar.org — Jocelyn Benson wins Michigan governor's race, defeating Republican John James
- fox2detroit.com — Jocelyn Benson wins election for Michigan governor, beating John James | FOX 2 Detroit
- easternecho.com — Jocelyn Benson expected to win Michigan gubernatorial race - The Eastern Echo
Verifier’s note
WEMU, WKAR, FOX 2 Detroit, NBC News, the Eastern Echo, 13abc, and ClickOnDetroit all report Benson defeating James. The Eastern Echo and ClickOnDetroit attribute the projection to AP, so they count as one report; Bridge Michigan describes an earlier lead rather than the win.