DETROIT, Mich. — Voters in Detroit, Michigan, got their first side-by-side look at the two major candidates for governor Tuesday night, Oct. 6, as Democrat Jocelyn Benson and Republican John James met in an hourlong televised debate in Grand Rapids.
Benson, the secretary of state, repeatedly tied James to President Donald Trump, arguing he would follow the president’s agenda and branding Trump’s tariffs on Canada a tax James supported. James, a congressman, said he has never voted to raise tariffs on Canada, has urged the administration to negotiate a fair deal, and blamed Democratic leadership in Lansing, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, for the state’s problems.
On education, the moderator pointed to Michigan’s weak fourth-grade reading results compared with gains in Mississippi. Benson said she would build on Mississippi’s approach with a five-part plan of her own, while James called for a return to phonics and the science of reading.
Both candidates said they support pausing new data center projects, but James wants local communities to set the rules while Benson called for statewide guardrails first. James said the war with Iran should end quickly and said he did not expect a need for an ICE presence in Michigan. Benson criticized his votes against war powers resolutions, and he defended them by citing his combat service.
The U.S. Senate candidates, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers, are scheduled to hold their first debate Thursday.
