Michigan’s race for governor took center stage as Democratic candidate and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Republican candidate Congressman John James met for their first debate in Grand Rapids. The candidates traded jabs while outlining their visions for affordability, taxes and energy policy.
WKAR Capitol Correspondent Colin Jackson joined Morning Edition host Melorie Begay to break down the debate’s key moments as Michiganders prepare to head to the polls. Click the link above to listen.
Interview Transcript:
Melorie Begay: Michigan gubernatorial candidates Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and her Republican opponent, Congressman John James, debated on stage for the first time in Grand Rapids last night. WKAR Capitol Correspondent Colin Jackson was there and joins me now. Thanks for being here, Colin.
Jackson: Good morning, Melorie.
Begay: This is the first time the two have met on the debate stage. How would you describe the meeting?
Jackson: I mean, it was testy, right? This is going to be their main opportunity to present their differences to voters, and you saw Secretary Benson going after John James almost immediately. She spent a lot of time trying to tie James to some of the unpopular Trump administration policies — think the war in Iran and the trade war with Canada. From James' point of view, he tried to tie Benson to what he described as failed Michigan policies during the eight years she's been in office.
Begay: A big topic of discussion throughout this election season has been affordability and the Iran war's impact on people's wallets. This is a gubernatorial race, which means whoever wins won't have much power when it comes to the war. But what did they say about how they would tackle affordability?
Jackson: Tax policy was one of the issues. John James talked about wanting to roll back the state's income tax, and he gave his plan for how the state could do that while still cutting government spending.
John James: People are already paying way too many taxes, and the government is wasting your money. We need to go in there and bring value to what people are spending.
Jackson: Jocelyn Benson also talked about her plans for taxes. She mentioned different opportunities to lower the tax burden for Michiganders as well.
Jocelyn Benson: Any family who's covering a rising cost of childcare will provide and find some tax relief in my first budget.
Jackson: Aside from that, the plans kind of ranged. They talked about energy policy for a little bit, where Jocelyn Benson said Michigan needs to double down on clean energy infrastructure, especially as clean and renewable energy sources become cheaper than their fossil fuel alternatives in some cases.
Benson: I know the next governor of Michigan must ensure we are ending profit-driven rate hikes that have gotten us here, where our electricity bills are going up. In some cases, more than many other states.
Jackson: James said the state needs to repeal its clean energy laws.
James: We need to make sure we have an all-of-the-above approach where yes, renewables, yes, natural gas, yes, nuclear, all of the above, so that we can keep our prices low, so we can remain resilient. But this needs to be economical as well as environmental as well.
Jackson: You also saw the policies and proposals get a little more unclear. Early on in the debate, Benson said she would try to work with Canada directly to negotiate some sort of carve-out for Michigan when it came to Canadian tariffs, though it's still not entirely clear how that would work. When we pressed her about it in the spin room after the debate, she said she would make sure it was legal and enforceable. But again, it's one of those things where we need to see more details to find out how it would work in practice.
Begay: Were there any other themes throughout the night?
Jackson: I think it was a lot of what you'd expect. Data centers were again a huge issue. [Benson] came out swinging on data centers, and so did [James] throughout the night. Benson tried to accuse James of profiting from data centers and voting to end local control. That's because some of the earlier versions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that we saw passed last year included provisions that would have stopped states and local governments from regulating AI. She accused James of profiting from data centers through his retirement portfolio:
Benson: Congressman, have you or have you not become a multimillionaire by buying stocks in the data center companies that you're charged with regulating?
James: No, and you know better.
Benson: Have you or have you never voted to cut taxes on those same data center companies?
Jackson: Meanwhile, James hammered Benson on her husband's role in related companies, including one of the groups that helped bring the Saline Township data center to Saline:
James: Frankly, if you want to talk about somebody who's been bought, it's somebody right now who's spending 10s of millions of dollars right now to cover over her terrible record and the fact that her family bulldozed Saline.
Jackson: For what it's worth, both candidates denied profiting from data centers. John James said his stock portfolio wasn't specifically related to data center or AI companies. Benson said her husband just works for the company. She said he did not receive a specific commission or profit boost from bringing the data center to Saline Township.
Begay: So what's next for these candidates in the last remaining weeks before Nov. 3?
Jackson: There are going to be some big names coming to Michigan in the coming weeks, or at least they've said they're coming. Presumably, Benson will be campaigning with former President Barack Obama later this month. That was announced a few days ago. It remains to be seen whether Congressman James plans to campaign with President Donald Trump when Trump comes to Michigan. Trump has also announced plans to visit the state, so there are going to be some big names coming here, trying to bring in the cavalry. Other than that, the candidates will be traveling around the state trying to get their messages in front of voters.
Begay: All right, Colin Jackson is WKAR's Capitol Correspondent. Thanks for being here, Colin.
Jackson: Thanks, Melorie.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
