As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wraps up two terms in office, Michigan voters will elect a new governor in just a few weeks. As part of our election coverage, Michigan Public is bringing you interviews with the candidates for Michigan’s top office.
Jocelyn Benson is a name known to many Michiganders. She has been the Secretary of State since 2019. And she is running as the Democratic candidate for Michigan governor. She sat down with Stateside host April Baer to discuss her plans for the state if elected.
April Baer: Will you tell us why running for governor seemed like the next step for you?
Jocelyn Benson: Well, you know, I'm a mom of a 10-year-old little boy, and it's not lost on me that everything we do over the next eight years will define my kid's future. And it will define the future of our loved ones all across the state. And in a moment where we need leaders who know how to run government well, who will get things done to drive down costs, to increase well-paying jobs, and to protect our rights, freedoms, democracy and safety everywhere we go.
That is the job I've done as Secretary of State, and it's a job I'm ready to do as governor. And I really do think we're on the precipice of a extraordinary moment, an extraordinary choice of which way we're going to go here in Michigan. I'm committed to making sure our schools are among the best in the nation, that we have well-paying jobs in this state, that our health care costs are going down, not up. And I'm, you know, running against someone who has raised health care costs while in Congress. So I'm very focused on making sure citizens know that choice, that I will fight for them, I will work for them, and I will work with anyone to get things done for them.
AB: What would you want voters to know about what you've accomplished as Secretary of State?
JB: You know, I'm really proud of Secretary of State. We've seen our elections go from being ranked 30th in the nation to number two nationwide in safety and security and accessibility. We've had back to back to back the highest turnout elections in our state's history. But also, I'm proud to have taken the Department of State, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and turned it around. We transformed what is oftentimes the poster child of government bureaucracy of everything that's wrong with government. And we've made it a representation of everything that government can do well. We save people time. We have kiosks in grocery stores. And as I look to what we need to do to drive down costs here in Michigan, a lot of it is just running government well, making sure health care is accessible and the like. So I'm proud we've been able to transform one of our largest agencies to make sure it's saving people time, saving people money, and making your life easier. And now I want all of government to work that well for all the people.
AB: You're a Democrat. If elected, you would be following a Democrat in office. Tell us about what would you keep doing as governor and what policies would you want to change?
JB: Well, one of the things that I will prioritize as governor is improving our public education systems. And we're coming off of three decades of back-to-back efforts of Republicans defunding our schools at a higher rate than any other state in the nation. That's a big reason why we see the numbers we're seeing today in reading scores and the like. So I want to continue reinvesting in our schools, which the Whitmer administration has done, providing free lunch and breakfast for kids as well. But we need to do more. We need to better pay our teachers, we need to support our schools. And I need to, and I want to redo our funding structure to ensure that we are meeting the unique needs of every district.
So improving education and also administering government in a way that works for folks. When I look at healthcare affordability, we need a governor who's going to make sure the Department of Health and Human Services is more efficient and more directly able to serve the people, to help us appeal unfair health insurance denials, to take on medical debt, and demand more transparency in medical billing. So that captures a lot of our plans for driving down costs and improving our state. And so it's a continuation. But also, I'm running to bring transformational change to our schools, to our economy, to our state.
AB: We do hear quite a bit from voters about rising costs in their lives. Is there anything else that you want to talk about that you would do as governor to try to relieve that pressure on Michiganders?
JB: Yeah. I mean, everywhere I go, we're on our a statewide tour right now, people are sharing heartbreaking stories, particularly about the cost of health care, which is skyrocketing for small business leaders and families alike. And it's not lost on me that my opponent voted three times to raise health care premiums while I have a plan to lower them. But that's not all. We have to improve housing affordability, and we have a plan to increase the supply of affordable housing while supporting first- and second-time homeowners and holding accountable bad actors who are driving up costs. Also, electricity. We need to invest in clean energy infrastructure so that we are enabling the reduction of energy costs in the state, and also making sure child care is more affordable for folks. Increasing well-paying jobs by diversifying our economy, improving small business growth is also how we can increase affordability here in Michigan.
And above all, making sure we are making Michigan the place that our young people choose to call home. Again, as a mom, this is personal to me. I will move with a sense of urgency to make sure our state provides opportunities for employment, for jobs, for growth, and that we're investing in transformational things like high speed rail and other things that will help make our communities safe places for everyone to thrive.
AB: How much power does state government have to work on prices when many of the forces driving inflation are federal and global in nature?
JB: Well, as governor, I will use every tool available to me in my toolbox to drive down costs. A lot of that is streamlining the administration of government, but it's also being able to work with our legislature to find ways to modernize how we're building, how we're opening child care centers, how we're enabling small businesses to grow. So the legislative process and the executive working together can do a lot to to lower costs.
And make no mistake, one of the reasons why we're seeing a lot of costs go up recently are these tariffs, tariffs with Canada that are hitting Michiganders harder than any other state. And as governor, we're going to negotiate subnational agreements between Michigan and Canada to actually find ways to minimize the negative impact that these tariffs are having and make better agreements with our neighbors to the north that will protect our costs and protect our jobs.
AB: How can the state support Michigan businesses that are dealing with increased expenses because of tariffs right now?
JB: Well, in addition to negotiating agreements that could perhaps provide carve outs to tariffs for our auto suppliers in particular, also looking for ways that we can enable business to have a helping hand from government instead of government being an obstacle course. It too often is difficult oftentimes to start and grow a business, to scale up funds, and ensure we're supporting those entrepreneurs and innovators who want to make Michigan a place where they can grow their business.
So a lot that we can do to streamline how government works will help small businesses grow, will help medium and existing businesses grow. And then also investing in talent workforce development, not just in better schools, but in apprenticeships and other opportunities that will help our businesses grow and find the talent they need to thrive. The great news about that is that it also creates well-paying jobs for our citizens, and everyone can see Michigan as a place where they can start and grow their business, start and grow their career, and above all, thrive.
AB: Can I ask what you mean by carve outs to the tariff agreements?
JB: Yeah. So there's plenty of examples of of subnational agreements where you're making an agreement between the state of Michigan and Canada that could, for example, and Maine has done this on rock salt for their roads. Say, when this particular product just goes between Michigan and Canada or vice versa, we want to exempt it from tariffs, particularly tariffs that Canada is placing on the U.S. that are driving up costs as well as some things in exchange. And then many governors can have the opportunity to work with the Department of Commerce to, once that agreement, is set to get approval, to protect those exemptions. And again, that's what a governor does: try to find every possible way to protect our state from bad decisions being made at the federal government level that are driving up costs for Michiganders.
AB: Data centers are a very contentious topic in communities across Michigan. How should the governor's office address backlash to data center development?
JB: Well, I believe that we see a lot of a lot of times where data centers are driving up, are making it hard for communities to thrive. And I've called for a moratorium until we have guardrails in place to actually ensure that data centers have to play by our rules if they're going to build here. That means protections for our water, protections for our energy costs, and above all, protecting local voices to ensure they have a say in community benefits agreements that will bring costs down in their own communities. Those types of guardrails and protections are critical to ensure that we are giving local citizens, the opportunity to have a say if a data center should even come to their community. And it's a sharp contrast to my opponent, who has voted four times against having any local say or supporting local citizens in having a say over whether data centers could come to their community.
As governor, I'll actually create a portal where people can see and evaluate data centers that are coming to their community, so that we can see collectively, and they can have their voice heard collectively, on any decisions being made that affect them.
AB: Could tell us about what you see as the greatest threat to democracy in Michigan right now, and how you would respond to that threat as governor?
JB: Well, as secretary of state, I've seen firsthand how far people will go to potentially not just overturn elections, but block people from even voting to begin with. And as secretary of state, that has meant working to prepare for any possibility that the federal government or anyone else, any other bad actors, could try to interfere with our elections or deny those results. And so the next governor has to be prepared, prepared as I am, to ensure citizens know their power, can exercise their vote, and can do so without any fear of intimidation or any other efforts to try to block their voice or their vote.
And make no mistake, the battle over the future of our democracy is still ongoing. It's one that we saw firsthand in 2020, when the president of the United States and my opponent spent millions of dollars trying to overturn fair and free elections, that we must continue to fight both as state leaders but also as citizens to stand up to. I say often how democracy is still on the ballot this year, and by electing state leaders, up and down the ticket, who will stand to protect the voice of the people and the votes of our citizens, that's how we can ensure best that our democracy continues to prevail, even against efforts at the federal level to try to undermine it.
