Michigan Secretary Of State Jocelyn Benson Makes The Case For Why She Should Be Michigan's Next Governor

Michigan's Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) joined "Forbes Newsroom" to discuss her campaign to be governor of Michigan.

Transcript

00:00Hey, I'm Brittany Lewis, a breaking news reporter here at Forbes. Joining me now is Michigan's

00:04Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson. Secretary, thank you so much for joining me.

00:08Thanks for having me. Great to be here.

00:10You're running for governor for Michigan, and you are a contender in a very crowded field. So to

00:15start off the conversation, why do you think you're the candidate up for the task?

00:20Oh, you know, I'm the daughter of special education teachers, a military spouse, and a mom of an

00:24eight-year-old kid who knows firsthand how important it is to make sure our education system

00:28is the best in the country, and that overall Michigan is the best place to be a kid, raise

00:32a kid, and call help. This is my fourth statewide campaign. I've run and won statewide multiple

00:39times as the only candidate in this race who can claim that success and victory. And in

00:46addition to that, along the way, I've governed our state well, running one of our largest

00:49agencies, the DMV, the Department of Motor Vehicles, which is a great opportunity. We've

00:56met that moment to deliver state services to every resident of the state. So every one

01:00of our 10.5 million residents has had personal experiences with my ability to lead and administer

01:06our largest state agency in a way that saves them time, saves them money, makes their life

01:11easier, and then enables them to get out of the way and enable them to thrive. And that's

01:16exactly who I'll be as governor, as well as standing up to protect the rights and freedoms

01:21of every resident of this state. And I believe that's why that track record, that track record

01:25of success and delivering results is why I'm proud to be leading in all the polls in this

01:30moment. We know voting doesn't start for another year, so we've still got a long way to go

01:34to present our case to the people of Michigan that I'm the one who can ensure government

01:38is on their side and making their lives easier and investing in economic prosperity for

01:43everyone. Winning statewide races, especially in a state like Michigan, is quite the feat

01:49because everyone who followed the 2024 election closely knew that Michigan was one of those

01:54battleground states. President Trump did flip Michigan in 2024. We've seen the state of Michigan

02:01vote for Democrats, vote for Republicans, and nationally, as we know right now, the Democratic

02:06Party, their approval rating is underwater. So as a Democrat, especially as a Democrat who is

02:12running in a state that is a battleground state, I mean, do you think that this is an uphill fight?

02:19Well, you know, just a few short years ago in 2022, I won this state by 14 points, including

02:24winning several counties that no other Democrat won because I show up in every community in the

02:29state. I have offices in every in every community in the state, every county in this state. And what

02:34that means is I'm able to meet people where they are, make government work well for them and make

02:38their lives easier. So I'm going to continue to do that. And when you see who wins

02:42in Michigan statewide, it's the candidates that can best make the case that they will listen,

02:47that they will hear and see the struggles of everyday people all throughout our state,

02:51and they're going to act to make their lives better. That's precisely what I've done

02:54as Secretary of State. And that's what I'll do as governor.