PRESS RELEASE
WATCH: Jocelyn Benson Lays Out Closing Message: “I Will Work for the People, James Works for Trump, Highest Bidder”
Last night, Secretary of State and Democratic nominee for Governor Jocelyn Benson joined MS NOW’s The Weeknight to call out John James for being a yes-man for President Trump and the billionaires bankrolling his campaign. Meanwhile, Jocelyn has spent her career delivering for Michiganders and vowed to serve as a guardrail against Trump’s dangerous agenda while fighting to lower costs, raise wages, and end corruption in Michigan.
Key point: “I certainly think there's a clear message and a clear contrast facing voters this fall, and it's: who do you want your leaders to work for? The people or Donald Trump? The people or the powerful and the highest bidder? And that's really what's become clear, especially in these last few weeks. I mean, just this week alone, the DeVos family has poured an additional $5 million into my opponent's race. Elon Musk has put in $1 million…We want leaders who are just going to lead with common sense and make our lives better. And our case as Democrats, up and down the ticket, as we build on this momentum, is we’re the team to do that.”
In case you missed it…
Michael Steele: …Is there a rising tide that will lift all Democratic votes right now in Michigan?
Jocelyn Benson: I certainly think there's a clear message and a clear contrast facing voters this fall, and it's: who do you want your leaders to work for? The people or Donald Trump? The people or the powerful and the highest bidder? And that's really what's become clear, especially in these last few weeks. I mean, just this week alone, the DeVos family has poured an additional $5 million into my opponent's race. Elon Musk has put in $1 million. So, you know, we're getting to the point where the choice of who do you want your leaders to work for has never been more clear. And that's really what we hear people recognizing even more. They want leaders who care about them, who are going to drive down costs, create well-paying jobs, improve our schools, and are sort of saying enough. Enough of the cruelty, enough of the division, enough of the chaos, enough of the bad economic policies that are just driving up costs of health care and housing and everything. We want leaders who are just going to lead with common sense and make our lives better. And our case as Democrats, up and down the ticket, as we build on this momentum, is we’re the team to do that.
Symone Sanders Townsend: …What can you as governor do to relieve some of this pressure that Michiganders are feeling?
Benson: It's a one-two punch: these reckless tariffs that my opponent supported that are driving up costs in Michigan more than any other state, and then coupled with the war in Iran that my opponent voted for six times, that has driven up gas prices, hurting Michiganders even more. What a governor can do is a number of things, including: call up Canada, negotiate subnational agreements, and carve outs…But in addition to that, this really underscores why you need governors with a backbone, who will stand up to the President and say, enough. You've got to do something. You've got to push back on this, as opposed to just agreeing to everything the President says. And when you look at these statewide races, these gubernatorial races, governors are the guardrails in this moment. It's an opportunity for governors to use every tool in our toolbox to reduce costs, to stand up to the President, and it's a sharp contrast between my opponent, who's been a yes-man to the President his entire time in Congress. And that's the real contrast and choice in this race.
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Steele: …How do you feel going into this cycle, given the efforts by this administration to intervene directly into state’s elections?...
Benson: The law is on our side here when it comes to defending and protecting our elections. And we've had, now, years of experience in scenario planning, and also with our 1,500 local clerks engaging in election scenario planning to prepare for every possibility, including frivolous lawsuits, which we're no stranger to here in Michigan. But that said, we also have to recognize the real motivation behind these tactics, to create chaos and confusion around our elections, is to sow seeds of doubt among voters about their vote, even counting or the elections being reliable. And so we have to be clear that the facts continue to reinforce that our elections are secure, they are reliable, the results are accurate, and no matter how you choose to vote, your vote will count and it will be heard. And the biggest thing we need to do as citizens is see through these strategies and instead exert our power, exert our vote, and recognize these strategies are because the President is afraid to be held accountable this fall. And so he's trying to distract us, or throw smoke and dust and chaos in our face. But we're smart enough as voters to know the truth, which is that the power of the people is always greater than the people in power. And this election is our opportunity to remind the President and everyone that we do have the power as citizens to hold him accountable and elect leaders who will work for us, not the highest bidder.
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