DETROIT — Jocelyn Benson has won the race to be Michigan’s next governor, giving Democrats a rare chance to keep the state’s top office after eight years in power.
Benson’s victory over Republican U.S. Rep. John James marks the first time in more than 60 years a Michigan gubernatorial candidate won an election to succeed someone else in the same party.
CNN, NBC News and the Decision Desk HQ called the race for Benson after 1 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4.
Benson was ahead with about 55% of the vote to James’ 43% at 3:55 a.m. Wednesday. They were followed by Libertarian Anthony Hudson at 1%, the U.S. Taxpayers Party’s Donna Brandenburg at 0.4% and the Green Party’s Doug Campbell at 0.4%.
Benson, 49, of Detroit, is the secretary of state and will become the third female governor of Michigan.
Benson: ‘I will be unafraid to stand up to any bully’
Benson’s victory gives a rare opportunity to continue holding the state’s top office after eight years in power as Democrats eyed keeping control of the state Senate and regaining the majority in the state House. If this happens, it would be the second time since 2022 that Democrats have achieved control of Lansing.
“They want leaders who will fight for them, fight for lower costs, fight to grow our economy, fight the corruption that too often protects the powerful and hurts the people,” Benson said after taking the stage to declare victory at about 1:30 a.m. Nov. 4 inside The Department at Hudson’s in Detroit.
She said she believed the Democrats would flip control of the state House and keep their majority in the Senate.
Her son, Aiden, introduced her. Her husband, Ryan Friedrichs, stood nearby.
Benson vowed to work with anyone who wants to deliver for the people of Michigan.
“But make no mistake, I will be unafraid to stand up to any bully no matter how powerful,” she said.
Asked if the size of Democratic victories across Michigan were larger than he expected, Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Curtis Hertel Jr. replied simply, “Of course.”
“You don’t go into this thinking you’re going to win everything,” Hertel said.
Term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer congratulated Benson in a statement.
“I know that Governor-elect Benson will always put Michigan first,” Whitmer said. “She will work with anyone to get things done and won’t let anyone mess with Michigan. She’s a tough, principled leader who doesn’t back down from hard fights, and Michigan is lucky to have her as our next governor.”
James remained optimistic despite trailing Benson
James, a U.S. representative from Shelby Township, watched the results Tuesday night into Wednesday from the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit, where the Republicans held their watch party. James, 45, of Shelby Township, was poised to become Michigan’s first Black governor if he had won the election.
Republicans at the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit remained optimistic even as the national results displayed at the front of the event space showed Republican seats across the nation flipping into the Democratic column.
James, in his first comments at the GOP event shortly before midnight in Detroit, thanked his family, staff and supporters for their work on the campaign trail. The GOP congressman said he remained “optimistic.”
“For now, it’s late. We’re still getting results in. We’ll continue to keep you posted,” James said.
Whitmer, a Democrat, couldn’t run for reelection this year because of term limits. Whitmer has held the state’s top political job since January 2019.
Benson, who’s Michigan’s top election official, told reporters Tuesday morning in Detroit that the early voting numbers in Michigan showed extraordinary enthusiasm.
“It speaks to both the fact that people have faith in our democracy, and they’re excited to vote,” Benson said, “and I’m excited to hopefully see record-breaking turnout today.”
Later in the day, James campaigned at a polling location at Lake Fenton High School in Fenton Township. James suggested the high Election Day turnout could be to his advantage despite polling that has shown Benson with a lead this fall.
“You have the history of people measuring the drapes for Hillary Clinton and for Kamala Harris,” James said of the 2016 and 2024 Democratic nominees for president. “Then, President Trump actually won. Republicans show up to the polls.
“I’ll tell you this is something that’s going to be absolutely essential. Because if we show up, we win.”
Democrats were optimistic with Benson at the top of the ticket
Michigan Democratic Party leaders were voicing optimism from the stage at their watch party inside The Department at Hudson’s in Detroit.
“Are you ready to elect Jocelyn Benson as our next governor,” Hertel asked the crowd at about 10:15 p.m.
The question drew a roar of applause.
In an interview, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, said the energy for Democrats was real.
“You’ve got to deliver,” McMorrow said of what Democrats should do if they take control of state government in Michigan. “This is a moment where Democrats have an opportunity to pick up a lot of disaffected voters. And I think that we will.
“But we need to bring costs down. You’ve got to address housing. You’ve got to address child care. You’ve got to address, to the extent that we can, gas prices in the state. People need to see and feel a difference.”
Benson called ‘tough as nails’
Benson is a graduate of Harvard Law School and previously served as the dean of Wayne State University Law School in Detroit.
She first ran for secretary of state in 2010, losing to Republican Ruth Johnson in what was a wave year for the GOP. However, Benson outperformed the Democratic candidate for governor by 16 percentage points that year.
She wrote a book “State Secretaries of State: Guardians of the Democratic Process” and ran again for the job in 2018, winning her first four-year term. She won again in 2022.
As Michigan’s secretary of state, Benson worked to reduce wait times, add self-serve kiosks to secretary of state offices and oversee the implementation of new voting rights measures approved by voters.
Dearborn voter Fred Owens, 58, said he cast his ballot for Benson because he thought she had a clear message and did well as Secretary of State.
“We are in a very partisan environment and it’s important to speak for all the members of our community,” he said. “We have a real challenge of creating opportunities for people to be able to afford to live today.”
State Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Bloomfield Township, who’s running for the U.S. House, has been an ally of Benson in the Legislature. He touted her efforts to defend Michigan’s elections from scrutiny by Republican President Donald Trump’s administration.
“She rolls up her sleeves. She builds wide coalitions,” state Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Bloomfield Township, said of Benson. “She sets a table for everyone to be at. And she gets things done.”
“This is somebody who is tough as nails,” Moss added. “And that is something that Michiganders expect and deserve out of their governor.”
Benson launched her campaign for Michigan’s top office on Jan. 22, 2025, vowing to be “the governor who puts transparency and efficiency at the forefront.” She has vowed to reduce costs for Michigan residents and has promoted her efforts to modernize the secretary of state offices.
“Now, I want to take that same type of approach to all of our agencies in government,” Benson said in January 2025.
Ian Sandler-Bowen, 24, of Ferndale, was campaigning for Democratic candidates outside his city’s public library on Election Day. He touted Benson’s stance on artificial intelligence. She has called for a moratorium on data centers and ending tax breaks benefiting companies behind the projects.
“I am very excited to have a candidate for governor and the potential for having a governor who has on the record said that she’s going to take a harder stance against handouts to AI companies,” Sandler-Bowen said.
Inside Ferndale’s Precinct 5, the precinct’s chairman, Scott Wright, said he was seeing a “huge” turnout with lines of voters.
“We’ve never had lines here,” Wright said.
In August, Benson won the Democratic primary over Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, 83%-17%.
James labeled ‘more America first’
James faced a more crowded path to the general election, with former Attorney General Mike Cox of Livonia, state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, and former House Speaker Tom Leonard, R-DeWitt, announcing campaigns for governor and eventually dropping their bids.
James eventually faced a one-on-one race with businessman Perry Johnson of Bloomfield Hills, who spent about $33 million of his own money on his campaign. James still won the Republican nomination with 50% of the vote. Johnson got 35%.
A West Point graduate and a military veteran, James’ family has a logistics business in Metro Detroit.
In 2018 and 2020, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate but overperformed expectations and gained statewide recognition through millions of dollars in TV advertising. He won a Metro Detroit seat in the U.S. House in 2022 and again in 2024. He launched his bid for governor on April 25, 2025.
Andrew Evans, 36, of Fenton Township, was among the Michigan voters who cast a ballot for James on Election Day.
“I just like his conservative nature,” Evans said.
James has argued that Michigan needs a change after eight years with a Democratic governor and said he would work to increase students’ test scores, to boost the state’s economy and to cut Michigan’s 4.25% personal income tax to under 4%.
James was endorsed by Trump in June. Trump said James has “courage and wisdom to deliver strong results” for Michigan.
Gary Walker, 59, of Fenton Township, said he voted for James.
“I believe he’s more America first,” Walker said of the candidates in the governor’s race. “I don’t know if he’s all America First. But I think he’s more America first.”
Rusty Richter, chairman of the Kent County Republican Party, said James sincerely wants to help Michigan and noted the congressman often made stops on the campaign trail with his three children.
“I think we’ve got some of the best candidates that we’ve fielded in several cycles,” Richter said. “And John is one of them.”
