Benson and Brinks Will Work Together to Bring Down Costs for Michiganders and Win Back The Democratic Trifecta

Yesterday, Secretary of State and Democratic nominee for Governor Jocelyn Benson announced her running mate, Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor Winnie Brinks. Bringing over a decade of legislative experience to the ticket, Leader Brinks was praised across the state as a “veteran lawmaker” thanks to her “sweeping” track record of delivering historic change for Michiganders. As the first woman to represent Grand Rapids in the state Senate since 1921 and the first woman to lead the state Senate, Brinks is no stranger to delivering results for Michiganders. 

At the announcement, Benson and Brinks made clear they will use every tool in their toolboxes to make Michigan the best place in the nation to live, work, build a family, and thrive.

In case you missed it…

On the airwaves: 

WXMI-TV — Grand Rapids, MI: Brinks brings more than a dozen years of experience in both chambers of the legislature to the ticket. The first woman elected as Senate Majority Leader, Brinks focused on cutting taxes for working families, guaranteeing free breakfast and lunch for public school students, protecting reproductive freedom, restoring workers rights and clean energy. Brinks and Benson say, together, they will lower costs, raise wages, and fight for the freedoms and rights that the other side wants to rip away.

WWMT-TV — Grand Rapids, MI: Benson at a Grand Rapids bar, surrounded by supporters, naming a running mate that served West Michigan for over a decade … Brinks is the first woman in Michigan history to lead the Senate, and would bring legislative experience to an office that presides over the chamber… Through working with Brinks, Benson says she's learned about leadership, getting things done, the importance of being a team and working across the aisle. “It's about competent, results-oriented leadership, ensuring that the east side of the state and the west side of the state are represented effectively,” said Benson.

WZZM-TV — Grand Rapids, MI: Secretary of State and candidate for Governor Jocelyn Benson picking State Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks of Grand Rapids to be her Lieutenant Governor if elected in November… Benson made the announcement during an event at Brewery Vivant in the East Hills neighborhood of Grand Rapids in Brinks district. Brinks, the first woman to become Majority Leader in the chamber in 2023, would also make it the first time in state history that two women would hold the offices of Governor and LG at the same time.

WOOD-TV — Grand Rapids,  MI:  Benson also said that Brinks could help her accomplish her goals for Michigan … “It was really important to me to find a running mate that brings a new perspective to the table, as someone who is as steeped in the needs of west Michigan as Senator Brinks is, clearly does. But also someone who has a lifetime of service and delivering results through confident, solution-oriented leadership that reflects the same type of leadership I want to bring as Governor to Michigan. So, I think we're going to be a great team. Of course, Senator Brinks is also the sitting Senate Majority Leader, and I think you could argue there's no one who is more qualified to serve as the Senate President and as a teammate to the next Governor as someone who has that depth of experience in the legislature as well,” said Benson.

WDIV-TV — Detroit, MI: Democrat Jocelyn Benson announced her pick for Lieutenant Governor, and that is Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks. She's the first woman to hold that job and now could be part of the first all-female ticket to lead the state of Michigan. “What Michigan needs is a leader who fights for the people, someone who has proven she can deliver results and make government work better. That's Jocelyn Benson, and I intend to be right by her side every step of the way fighting for a Michigan we can all afford.”

In print: 

The Detroit News: Benson picks Michigan Senate leader for her running mate

[Craig Mauger, 8/19/26]

Democratic candidate for governor Jocelyn Benson has picked Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks as her running mate, citing the veteran lawmaker's track record in the Legislature.

Benson, Michigan's current secretary of state, introduced Brinks as her running mate on Wednesday afternoon in Grand Rapids, the city that Brinks, Michigan's first-ever female majority leader of the Senate, has represented in the Legislature since 2013.

Benson told a crowded room at Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids that she wanted a governing partner who has a track record of getting things done.

“I found a person whose leadership I've seen up close and who has spent years fighting for west Michigan,” Benson told supporters.

[...]

“I’ve been through some really tough election cycles and election races personally," [Brinks] said previously. "It gives me a very good taste of what our members have gone through.”

Detroit Free Press: Benson chooses running mate in Michigan's governor race

[Clara Hendrickson, 8/19/26]

In 2022, when Michigan Democrats won their first majority in the state Senate in 40 years, her colleagues picked her as their majority leader, making her the first woman to ever hold the position. During a Democratic trifecta, she helped secure policy priorities long sought by her party that had faced Republican opposition. She also led the Michigan Senate through the tumult of a chaotic lame-duck session that saw other Democratic policies die in the Michigan House of Representatives.

At the event in Grand Rapids, Brinks called Benson "exactly the leader we need in this moment." She touted Benson's work as secretary of state, nodding to shorter wait times at branch offices and hammered Benson's GOP opponent in the race U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, for his votes in Congress. "He voted to fund Trump's disastrous forever war in Iran, where service members are trapped at sea," Brinks said.

Benson lives in Detroit, so in addition to her time in the Michigan Capitol, Brinks brings geographic diversity to the ticket.

Former Michigan Democratic Party Chair Brandon Dillon, who previously served in the Michigan House representing Grand Rapids, celebrated Benson's decision.

"Great pick," he said of Brinks. He touted Brinks' relationship with lawmakers and the west Michigan representation she brings to the ticket, a part of the state he described as a "strong, growing Democratic area."

MLive: Benson announces Senate majority leader as lieutenant governor running mate

[Danielle James, 8/19/26]

Brinks, who bills herself as the first woman to represent Grand Rapids in the state Senate since 1921, is also the state’s first female Senate majority leader.

She’s headed the chamber since 2023, after the party won a Democratic trifecta in the November 2022 election and her colleagues chose her for the leadership position.

If elected come November, Benson and Brinks would be making Michigan history again, as the first woman governor to also serve with a woman lieutenant governor.

Gongwer: Dems cheer Brinks pick for Benson LG: ‘An unlikely story only she would write’

[Lily Guiney, 8/19/26]

In an era of politics where a compelling candidate backstory can mean as much (or more) than policy positions, Brinks has the resume: raised on a dairy farm in rural Washington state, her parents were Dutch immigrants who left Europe after World War II. Brinks’s father passed away when she was six, but her mother was determined to keep the farm running and did so while raising five children.

Brinks credited her upbringing for instilling her with sense of teamwork and dedication, which served her well in the Legislature, but said she never thought she’d find herself speaking before a crowd of supporters sporting signs with her name on them as a prospective nominee for lieutenant governor.

“I never planned to run for office. I was happy with my nonprofit work and life with my husband and my children, of course, my three brilliant daughters,” she told the audience in Grand Rapids, many of whom had followed her since the beginning of her political career. “But 14 years ago, when Democrats needed to field a last-minute candidate for my state representative seat, many of my neighbors urged me to run as a write-in candidate, and while I could think of a million reasons not to run, I knew that if I wanted to see things change, I couldn't wait for someone else to do it. So, I ran a write-in campaign, and with your help, I won.”

Michigan Public: Jocelyn Benson picks MI Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks for lieutenant governor

[Colin Jackson,  8/19/26]

Supporters and local elected officials packed a brewpub in the Grand Rapids East Hills neighborhood Wednesday to hear Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocleyn Benson announce her running mate choice.

[...]

Brinks has spent the past 13 years representing the Grand Rapids area in the state Legislature. Running alongside Benson, a southeast Michigan resident who has not been a lawmaker, Brinks will bring both West Michigan and legislative viewpoints to the ticket.

“I think it’s really a strength to have so many strong relationships with legislators already and I think that will help us move our agenda, it will help us find common ground, and it will also help us work out differences,” Brinks told reporters.

Michigan Advance: Benson chooses Brinks as running mate, citing leadership and legislative wins 

[Katherine Daily, 8/19/26]

Calling Brinks a “tireless advocate” for West Michigan and the whole state, Benson told reporters after the event that her decision was “about competent, results-oriented leadership, ensuring that the east side of the state and the west side of the state are represented effectively in Lansing.”

[...] 

She also drew stark distinctions between herself and Benson and Republican gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Township). 

“Before we can make government work for everyone, we need to beat John James. The choice could not be more stark,” she said. “John James has made it clear that he is not fighting for the people of Michigan. He’s fighting for Donald Trump. That’s not leadership, and it’s not what Michigan needs.”

Bridge Michigan: Jocelyn Benson picks Winnie Brinks as running mate in Michigan governor race

[Simon D. Schuster, 8/19/26]

To enact her agenda, “I need a governing partner who has a track record for getting things done,” Benson said in a speech to supporters in Grand Rapids, predicting “together with all of you, she and I will make Michigan history.” 

Brinks adds a west Michigan connection to the campaign for Benson, who lives in Detroit, and brings significant legislative experience to the ticket. 

In her acceptance speech, Brinks promised to be “right by (Benson’s) side, every step of the way, fighting for a Michigan we can all afford.”

[...]

The pick means Democrats will have two women at the top of the ticket In november opposite Republicans, who did not nominate a female candidate for any of the top statewide offices for the first time in nearly 50 years.

Brinks said the historic nature of the ticket — the first with women running together for governor and lieutenant governor — matters.

“I think that we’ve got the best ticket, regardless of whether we’re men or women on the Democratic side,” Brinks said. “I like to see representation in the highest offices of our land and in our state.”

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