Dem Jocelyn Benson Lays Out Case For Victory In Michigan's Gov Race— A State Trump Flipped In 2024

Forbes Breaking News

Michigan's Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson joined "Forbes Newsroom" to discuss her campaign for governor of her state.

Transcript

00:00Hi, everybody. I'm Brittany Lewis, a breaking news reporter here at Forbes. Joining me now

00:07is Michigan's Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson. Secretary, thank you so much for joining me.

00:12Thanks for having me. Great to be here.

00:14You're running for governor for Michigan, and you are a contender in a very crowded field.

00:19So to start off the conversation, why do you think you're the candidate up for the task?

00:23Oh, you know, I'm the daughter of special education teachers, a military spouse,

00:27and a mom of an eight-year-old kid who knows firsthand how important it is to make sure our

00:31education system is the best in the country and that overall Michigan is the best place to be a

00:35kid, raise a kid, and call home. This is my fourth statewide campaign. I've run and won statewide

00:42multiple times as the only candidate in this race who can claim that success and victory.

00:49And in addition to that, along the way, I've governed our state well, running one of our

00:53largest agencies, the DMV, the Department of Motor Vehicles, which is a great opportunity.

01:00We've met that moment to deliver state services to every resident of the state. So every one of

01:04our 10.5 million residents has had personal experiences with my ability to lead and administer

01:10our largest state agency in a way that saves them time, saves them money, makes their life easier,

01:15and then enables them to get out of the way and enable them to thrive. And that's exactly who I'll be as

01:21governor, as well as standing up to protect the rights and freedoms of every resident of this

01:25state. And I believe that's why that track record, that track record of success and delivering results

01:31is why I'm proud to be leading in all the polls in this moment. We know voting doesn't start for

01:36another year, so we've still got a long way to go to present our case to the people of Michigan,

01:40that I'm the one who can ensure government is on their side and making their lives easier,

01:44and investing in economic prosperity for everyone.

01:47Winning statewide races, especially in a state like Michigan, is quite the feat because

01:53everyone who followed the 2024 election closely knew that Michigan was one of those battleground

01:59states. President Trump did flip Michigan in 2024. We've seen the state of Michigan vote for

02:05Democrats, vote for Republicans, and nationally, as we know right now, the Democratic Party,

02:11their approval rating is underwater. So as a Democrat, especially as a Democrat who is running in a

02:16state that is a battleground state, I mean, do you think that this is an uphill fight?

02:22Well, you know, just a few short years ago in 2022, I won this state by 14 points,

02:28including winning several counties that no other Democrat won, because I show up in every community

02:33in the state. I have offices in every community in the state, every county in this state.

02:38And what that means is I'm able to meet people where they are, make government work well for them,

02:41and make their lives easier. So I'm going to continue to do that. And when you see who wins

02:45in Michigan statewide, it's the candidates that can best make the case that they will listen,

02:50that they will hear and see the struggles of everyday people all throughout our state,

02:55and they're going to act to make their lives better. That's precisely what I've done as Secretary

02:59of State. And that's what I'll do as governor.

03:01When you're thinking about how you'll be governor, it's a divided time right now, as you know,

03:05and especially in a battleground state, how will you listen and hear and see voters across the aisle

03:12work with Republicans, help Republican voters work with independents? I mean, what does that look like?

03:18Well, just as I've done as Secretary of State, I'll always work with anyone to get things done for

03:22the people of Michigan. And so as Secretary of State, whether it's building cross-partisan

03:26coalitions to save our residents time and money, and put self-service stations in grocery stores

03:33and launch mobile offices around the state, I know we best serve the people of Michigan

03:37by working together to cut wasteful spending, eliminate red tape, and make the lives of every

03:43resident of the state where they live in a red or blue or purple community easier. So that's how

03:47I've gotten things done already over these last several years, and that's how I'll lead as governor.

03:51So I would love to dive in a little bit and talk about how President Trump's policy so far

03:56in his second term are impacting your state specifically. So let's start with tariffs, because

04:00they are a signature of President Trump's second term. We have seen him threaten, start, pause, and

04:07escalate trade wars with dozens of nations around the world. So how are you seeing tariffs

04:12specifically impact Michigan? Well, exactly as you said, the uncertainty of the tariff policy,

04:19not to mention the way that they are recklessly being applied, has been really challenging for our

04:24state and our farmers and our small business owners, our auto suppliers, and our entire

04:29economy. So I believe that tariffs can be a tool in the toolbox for increasing the number and amount

04:34of manufacturing we can do here in Michigan around our country. But that's not what this is. This is

04:39chaotic, confusing economic policy, where in any given day, our small business owners don't know if

04:45they're going to be able to get their inventory in this fall. Our farmers don't know if they're going to

04:48be able to sell their soybeans and other inventory to buyers across the world. So that uncertainty of

04:54that economic policy and that lack of strategy behind it has created a lot of uncertainty for

04:59our economy as well in this state, which we have tried to level set through policies that will ensure

05:04farmers can know that the government in Michigan is on their side to help navigate this challenging

05:09time. But we're looking forward to being able to partner with the federal government that will have

05:15more sensible, streamlined policy to provide certainty, as well as investing in our economic

05:21structures, our manufacturing industry in the state, while also not burning bridges with partners

05:26that are important to us, like our friends in Canada. Michigan is a state that's synonymous with

05:31the auto industry and United Auto Workers celebrated President Trump's auto tariffs at the time. I want to

05:37read what they said, quote, this is a long overdue shift away from a harmful economic framework that has

05:43devastated the working class and driven a race to the bottom across borders in the auto industry.

05:49They also said the tariffs could bring blue-collar auto jobs stateside within months. What do you make

05:55of that reaction and that response, the celebratory response from the auto workers union?

06:01Well, certainly we have a lot of industries in our state and the UAW is one of the most important ones.

06:06And I agree with their recognition that we need to do more to build things here in Michigan

06:10and to invest in our manufacturing industry in this state. And so I consider that UAW and so

06:17many of their auto suppliers and staff that they work with to be great friends and allies

06:21and stand with them in investing in data-driven economic approaches to raise wages in the state

06:27and increase opportunities to grow even more while decreasing the cost of living and of so many things

06:34in our state right now. So I'm grateful for their leadership on so many fronts and making sure

06:39that their workers are healthy and safe in the workplace as well. I look forward to working with

06:43them as well as others all throughout our state to advocate for sensible economic policies that will

06:49not just ensure their workers have security and job security and safety in the workplace,

06:54but everyone in our industries throughout our state can say the same.

06:57I also want to talk a little bit about President Trump's, what he describes as his big, beautiful bill.

07:03It's over a thousand pages. It's his signature when it comes to his tax and immigration policies

07:08in his second term. And there have been criticisms of it, particularly in the fact that it will increase

07:15the national deficit and also cuts to Medicaid have been a sticking point both for Republicans

07:21and Democrats alike. And according to data from last year from your state, more than 2.6 million people

07:26in Michigan are enrolled in Medicaid and the nonpartisan CBO estimates that 7.8 million people

07:32will lose their insurance because of cuts to Medicaid because of this bill. So what is your

07:37reaction to that bill and how specifically will this impact Michigan? Healthcare affordability is top of

07:44mind of all of our residents right now, whether they live in a red part of the state or a blue part of

07:49the state or anywhere in between. And so in our state, we're actively having conversations about how to

07:54make sure that one advocate to keep those funds for health care, whether it be Medicaid or other types

08:00of necessary services in our federal budget. And we hope to win that fight. But we're also working to find

08:06ways to cut wasteful spending and make health care more affordable in our state, even in the uncertainty

08:11of this moment. But make no mistake about it that cuts to Medicaid would be devastating to millions of our

08:17residents, young people, elderly people, working moms and dads, and create even more uncertainty and

08:23turmoil in a state that are full of voters who supported this president, believing that he would

08:29cut the cost of living, making decisions like this would only raise the cost of living to so many of

08:34these residents. And it's something that I'll continually to speak out against, as our governor has

08:39done as well, and to fight to ensure we're doing everything we can to provide affordable health care for the

08:44citizens of Michigan. And if there's any, let's say there are those cuts, let's say this bill passes,

08:50people lose their Medicaid, specifically in Michigan. I mean, what can you do? Let's say you

08:54win a governor. What can you do as governor to make sure that those people are insured and make sure that

08:59they have health care? It's going to take a lot of people working together to build new partnerships

09:06and identify ways to cut the cost of health care so that it's more affordable for folks. Make no mistake

09:12that these cuts would be devastating. And in this moment, we're focused on doing everything we can

09:16to raise awareness about those devastating cuts, that the people who represent the citizens who

09:21will be most harmed by these cuts in Congress know about those devastating effects and stand up for our

09:27residents and protect their access to health care.

09:30And Secretary, before I let you go, I just want to ask you two questions about recent news about your

09:35campaign. Michigan's Attorney General found that you violated the state's campaign finance law over

09:41holding a press conference announcing your campaign from the lobby of a state government

09:46building. What's your reaction to that? Well, I'm glad that matter has been resolved. But

09:50essentially, I was in I was dropping off my candidate paperwork as a candidate, which we have to do

09:55in that building. And I was happy to answer questions from the press as I did it. So we respect her new

10:00interpretation of the law in that regard. And, you know, grateful that it's been resolved. And now I'm

10:05continuing to move on and focus on building a strong statewide campaign that will be poised to win

10:09next November. And earlier this week, a Republican in the state, Michigan Representative Jim DeSanna

10:15introduced articles of impeachment against you. You were accused of, quote, corrupt conduct,

10:20constitutional violations, and a repeated abuse of power. What's your reaction to the news?

10:25I'm focused on delivering results to the people of Michigan not engaging in political games

10:29that are designed to gain headlines and attention for folks who otherwise should be going to work every

10:36day to live, work, and thrive in our state. So I'm going to be focused on working with folks across

10:44the aisle to respect the rule of law, follow the Constitution, and protect the voices and votes

10:49of every resident of the state. And I hope lawmakers will get to work doing the same.

10:53And, Secretary, I know you said at the beginning of this conversation, there's a long road ahead.

10:56It's a year long away from the election. I mean, what specifically

11:00are you doing next in this race? Well, I'm a marathoner, and I've run over 35 marathons

11:07throughout my running career. And so every step of the way, we're working to build a strong

11:11foundation, not just to win this campaign, but to govern well as well, also to make sure we're

11:15delivering results, developing a plan to make our schools the top 10 in the nation, to work with

11:22business leaders, small, large, medium, and everyone in between to build a plan so that people in

11:27Michigan can thrive. We're keeping our talent here in our state, and we're making Michigan the

11:32best place to be a kid and raise a kid and call home. So I'm traveling the state and have continued

11:36to do that throughout this campaign, talking to people, hearing about how they need affordable

11:41housing, how they need to be able to afford child care, and how they shouldn't have to have to choose

11:45between paying their electricity bill and buying groceries. Those are the problems that the people of

11:51Michigan really need their government leaders to solve for them. And as governor, that's what I'll be

11:55dedicated to doing. Secretary Jocelyn Benson, thank you so much for joining me. You're welcome back

11:59anytime. Thanks so much for having me. I really enjoyed our conversation.

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