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August 19th Len’s Political Note #747 Jocelyn Benson Michigan Governor
2026 General Election
Jocelyn Benson
Three Democrats of note are running for Governor. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist, and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson. Consider the numbers:
Jocelyn Benson: By the end of the second quarter, Jocelyn Benson had raised $2.4 million dollars and transferred more than a million from other campaign funds giving her a total of $3.5 million
Jocelyn Benson raised more than the other two Democratic candidates put together.
Among Republicans:
Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt raised $2.3 million, including transfers.
Congressman John James raised $2.3 million, including transfers. In addition, the DeVos family donated $5 million to a separate PAC on his behalf. Former State House Speaker Tom Leonard has announced so recently, he has no financial reports.
The biggest fund raiser:
Independent, former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan raised $3.2 million without transfers. He will be an important factor is this election.
Let’s look at another set of numbers: The Polls
Democratic Primary numbers:
You have to go back to March, 2025 to find polling for the Democratic primary. There were two polls. One found Jocelyn Benson leading Garlin Gilchrist 46-13; the other had her leading him 55-12.
Republican primary numbers:
March is what you need for the Republicans, too. John James led Nesbitt 57-13. The other poll had James leading Tudor Dixon, who has since made clear she was not running, 31-30.
Nothing is certain in politics, but if would be a shock if Jocelyn Benson was not the Democratic nominee and John James was not the Republican nominee. There are polls for that contest: Two from March, one from May. Glengariff Group pollsters have a non-partisan reputation. In May, the poll found Jocelyn Bensonleading John James 35-34. Duggan trailed with 22.
Polls from nearly a year and a half before the election aren’t worth much. We can take away one thing from these polls. The Michigan election for governor will probably be close.
Jocelyn Benson
Forty-seven years old, Jocelyn Benson has been busy. She grew up in Pittsburgh, went to the Wellesley for college where she earned a Marshall scholarship in 1999. She went south from Massachusetts to work for the Southern Poverty Law Center before taking advantage of her Marshall and getting an MPhil at Oxford.
Not done with her education, she went to Harvard Law School. After graduating with a JD and completing a clerkship in the sixth circuit, she married Harvard research staffer Ryan Friedrichs in 2006.
Together, they went to Detroit. She taught at Wayne State Law School. He founded a non-profit called State Voices. If you google State Voices, the organization will tell you: “We deserve a world where every vote is counted, every voice is heard, and every need is met. Together, we can build a multiracial democracy.” By 2011, Friederichs fulfilled a commitment he made to himself after 9/11. He joined the military and became a paratrooper. in 2012, Jocelyn Benson became a very young Dean of Wayne State’s law school.
Back from the military, in 2015, Ryan Friedrichs became the Chief Development Officer for the City of Detroit. The timing worked. Detroit had been experiencing an economic and cultural resurgence and was attracting money from those who wanted to participate in making a city work effectively.
Jocelyn Benson got a job that would change the trajectory of her life and his. She had taught a relevant course: Legislative Oversight, Race and the Law, and Sports and Inequality. She had also written a book that would help in her next effort: State Secretaries of State: Guardians of the Democratic Process.
That she was an accomplished marathon runner, was certainly part of what made her attractive for her new position. She left Wayne State to become the CEO of the Ross Initiative of Sports for Equality (RISE). Founded by Stephen M Ross, a New York City Real Estate Developer known best as the owner of the Miami Dolphins football team, his organization was to be a “collaboration of every professional sports league and media network to use the unifying power of sports to improve race relations and promote social change.” Perhaps in celebration of her appointment, eight months pregnant, Jocelyn Benson ran the Boston Marathon.
Among the RISE initiatives Jocelyn Benson oversaw was a Michigan Citizens’ Redistricting Competition” during which Michigan residents, using software made available to them, drew redistricting maps for Michigan. That experiment may have been a precursor to the Michigan constitutional revision to create an independent redistricting commission that included randomly selected citizen-applicants as some of the commission members.
Jocelyn Benson began preparing for her next step. She would have a second try as a candidate for Michigan’s Secretary of State. Having lost her race in 2010, she was better prepared and was elected in 2018.
As Secretary of State, she was sued by Republicans for mailing absentee ballots, during the pandemic, to all 7.7 million Michigan voters. As Secretary State, she was sued by Democrats for disallowing votes with signatures that differed from registration signatures. As Secretary of State, she was subjected to death threats from citizens planning to take their vision of justice in their own hands. As Secretary of State, the then and now President of the United States suggested she be tried for treason and, perhaps, executed. Donald Trump denied he made that suggestion. Do you believe the denial?
Meanwhile, Stephen M. Ross, apparently happy with his connection with the Friedrichs-Benson family, hired Ryan Friedrichs as Vice President for Development for his Related Companies.
Jocelyn Benson and Ryan Friedrichs have come a long way from their time in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She’ll be running against John James, a West Point graduate with Master’s Degrees from Penn State and Michigan and experience in his father’s international global supply business.
After losing two US Senate races, John James was elected to represent Michigan’s 10th Congressional district in 2022 and again in 2024. As a Member of Congress, he described himself as pro-life, pro-second amendment, pro-business, and a conservative. He went farther than most when he described abortion as “genocide.” He described the Affordable Care Act as a “monstrosity” and would attempt to repeal it.
John James says he is reluctant to be critical of Donald Trump in public because he wants to maintain his access to the President. One of four Black Republicans in the House of Representatives, he has told Black leaders in private meetings that he is critical of many of the things the President says.
Michigan will be better off with Jocelyn Benson as governor. So will the United States of America. She has been a genuine contributor to making the United States a better place. As governor of Michigan, she will have an impact on us all. DONATE.
MICHIGAN US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE RACES
Of the 13 Races two are seen as particularly competitive
Bridget Brink
Michigan 7
Former Ukraine Ambassador Bridget Brink seems particularly compelling and I urge you to support and DONATE to her. But she is one of five legitimate candidates seeking to defeat first term Republican Tom Barrett. See Len’s Political Note #742.
Michigan 10
Four legitimate Democratic candidates – former US Prosecutor Eric Chung, Mayor Tim Greimel, former bomb disposal officer Alex Hawkins, and former prosecutor Christina Hines are all seeking to replace Republican John James, Only one Republican has signed up so far – Prosecutor Robert Lulgjuraj.
Other Michigan Congressional races: Do they know something I do not?
Michigan 02
Four interesting Democrats, Marketing Director Sam Ambrose, Chemist Andrew Ault, Medical Professional Jamie Hill, and Marketing Director Michael Lynch have shown up to run against Republican incumbent John Moolenaar, who is usually considered safe.
Michigan 03
Incumbent Democrat Hillary Scholten is usually considered vulnerable. Is she vulnerable to either of the Republicans running: Attorney J. Allen Fioretta or Financial Advisor Michael Markey? We’ll see. DONATE
Michigan 04
Has Incumbent Republican Bill Huizinga weakened himself by threatening a run for the US Senate and then backing down to Trump’s pick and agreeing to run for reelection to the House? Four Democrats have announced: Cybersecurity Professional Richard Aaron, former US Senate staffer Diop Harris, State Senator Sean McCann, and attorney Jessica Swartz.
Michigan 08. DONATE First year incumbent Kristen McDonald Rivet won what seemed to be a vulnerable seat in 2024. Now only one Republican candidate is running against her.
Michigan 11 Only one Democrat, State Senate Pro-Tem Jeremy Moss, has announced for this seat that Haley Stevens is vacating to run for the US Senate. Others are likely to announce. Only one Republican has expressed interest so far as well.
US Senate. Three Democrats have announced: Congresswoman Haley Stevens DONATE, State Senator Mallory McMorrow DONATE, and County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed DONATE. You could wait to see if Attorney General Dana Nessel enters the race. Don’t wait too long. Donald Trump has already driven out any opponent to former Congressman Mike Rogers who will be the Republican nominee. The Democratic nominee will have a lot of catching up to do.
Downballot
Secretary of State: Two Democrats have announced: Jocelyn Benson’s deputy Aghogho Edevbie and County Clerk Barb Byrum. No Republicans have yet announced.
Attorney General: Three Democrats have announced: Two county prosecutors – Karen McDonald and Eli Savit – and a former US Attorney Mark Totten. Two Republicans have announced – a former county prosecutor Dout Lloyd and a former Archdiocese school superintendent Kevin Kijewski. Presumably, he has experience keeping people in line.
MIDWESTERN DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR
Rob Sand
Iowa
The only Democrat holding statewide office State Auditor Rob Sand has accumulated enough resources to begin a formidable campaign. He has developed a distinctively bi-partisan approach to governing. DONATE. The current Republican governor is among the least popular in the country, She is not running again. The Republican nominee will be Randy Feenstra, Congressman from Iowa’s most conservative district.
Sara Rodriguez
Wisconsin
Governor Tony Evers has completed two successful terms in office, but Wisconsin does not set term limits for him. Nevertheless, he has announced he would not run for reelection. So far, the only announced Democrat is Lt. Governor and former nurse and public health executive Sara Rodriguez. We have to wait a little bit to see if there are more candidates.
Ethan Corson
Kansas
Democratic Governor Laura Kelly is term limited. The contest, so far, for the Democratic nomination, is between two state Senators – Ethan Corson and Cindy Holscher. Ethan Corson has gotten off to a fast start – raising $230,000 in a week after announcing. It is possible that his record of flipping a Republican district, bipartisan work, and focus on improving schools, lowering taxes on the middle class, and recruiting business to Kansas would work as an appropriate follow up to Laura Kelly’s moderate positions. DONATE to Ethan Corson or wait. These are early days.
The Republicans have at least seven candidates. It is worth watching to see if someone like podcast Doug Billings or former Governor and Lt. Governor for Sam Brownback during the failed right wing Kansas experiment becomes the front runner. If that happens, donations to the likely Democratic primary winner could keep the Kansas Governor’s office blue.
Michael Bennet
Colorado. (stretching the Mid-west pretty far west)
Governor Jared Polis is term limited. The contest for the Dem nomination is between US Senator Michael Bennet and State Attorney General Phil Weiser. Whichever candidate wins the nomination, the odds are in favor of the Democrat winning in November. Unless, of course, the two Democrats do so much harm to each other that they provide an opening for the Republican nominee.
Michael Bennet has a more than 30% lead in one poll for the primary election and large leads in other polls. Michael Bennet has collected a slew of endorsements and a fair amount of money. He ended the quarter with $1.3 million available. Weiser, who had been raising money for the race longer, had $2.5 million available.
Unless he falters in his fund raising, DONATE to Bennet. That might help him gain an overwhelming win. We want resources available to defeat whichever of the three Republican candidates wins. Right now two state senators and a former state rep. are competing. So far, none of them have more than $25,000 in cash available.
Amy Acton
Ohio
Republican Governor Mike DeWine is term limited. Former Elon Musk associate in Donald Trump’s DOGE effort, Vivek Ramaswamy is running. He’s not the only candidate, but the combination of his resources (his $7.8 million cash on hand is not even relevant for a multi-millionaire) and his support from Trump make him the overwhelming front runner. His Democratic challenger is former state health director Amy Acton – more praised than vilified (but both) for her leadership during the pandemic. See Len’s Political Note #724
Amy Acton has found her voice – mocking Ramaswamy for flying from city to city in Ohio when driving would do. Ramaswamy is not a politician and is vulnerable to a tough campaign. DONATE. It is time Ohio had a Democratic governor again.
DEMOCRATS RUNNING IN NOVEMBER, 2025
Mikie Sherill
New Jersey Governor
Keep New Jersey Blue. Recent polls have shown Congresswoman Mikie Sherill leading the Republican nominee Jack Ciatarelli: 45-37 in a recent poll and 48-42 in the most recent poll. Keep Mikie Sherill in the lead; help her win this election. DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #732
Abigail Spanberger
Virginia Governor
Make Virginia Blue. A July poll found former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger leading the Republican nominee Lt. Governor Winsome Earl-Sears by a 49-37 margin. Twelve points is substantial. Furthermore, Abigail Spanberger has a similar funding raising lead, having raised $27 million for this race compared to her opponent’s less than $12 million. Abigail Spanberger is still raising money. It is important, but not as urgent as New Jersey. DONATE See Len’s Political note #705
Consider the Virginia down ballot candidates as well: Lt. Governor candidate State Senator Ghazala Hashmi DONATE. In Virginia, the Lt. Governor is elected separately. See Len’s Political Note #735
Also consider former Delegate Jay Jones for Attorney General DONATE. He is running behind the incumbent Republican in the financial race. See Len’s Political Note #734.
Zohran Mamdani
New York City Mayor
With a total population in between New Jersey’s and Virginia’s who governs New York City matters. Despite an onslaught of attacks on his Democratic socialism and his critical views of Israel, Zohran Mamdani earned the Democratic nomination and is leading in the polls for the November election. He is facing the considerable resources of his opponents. Born in Uganda, son of an internationally known scholar and an internationally known film producer, he is a graduate of Bronx High School of Science and Bowdoin College. He has proposed reducing the high cost of living in New York City by eliminating fees for buses, freezing rent, and developing no-cost child care. DONATE See Len’s Political Note #739.
