While much attention is being given to the Michigan Senate race between Abdul El-Sayed (D) and former Rep. Mike Rogers (R), voters will also decide on term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's (D) replacement in November.
Earlier this week, Trump-backed Congressman John James (pictured above) defeated Perry Johnson in the Republican primary.
"The primary was a difficult one," says Stand Up Michigan President Ron Armstrong. "[James] was outspent by … about $40 million … and he prevailed by 15% in this race."
While many pundits have pointed to the fact that he has lost two previous attempts at statewide office, the election integrity advocate says it is important to understand both of those campaigns.
"One of them was run in 2018, when marijuana was on the ballot, and he was running against an incumbent at the time, [Democratic Senator Debbie] Stabenow," Armstrong explains.
In 2020, there was major voter turnout when James took on another incumbent senator, Gary Peters (D), who outperformed President Donald Trump "by a large number," according to Armstrong.
"It was the 2020 election, where all these anomalies took place in our voting," he notes.
James, a Detroit-area native who graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served eight years in the Army as a Ranger-qualified Apache helicopter pilot, has represented Michigan's 10th Congressional District since 2023.
He will now face Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D), who oversaw Michigan's contested 2020 general election, in the race for governor.
Critics argue that Benson has at times prioritized voter access over stronger election-security measures and have faulted her for issuing guidance to local clerks that exceeded her legal authority. They have also questioned the transparency of her office's handling of election records and procedures and called for stricter voter ID requirements, citizenship verification, and more aggressive voter-roll maintenance.
Benson, however, maintains that Michigan's elections are secure and that her policies are grounded in law and evidence.
An average of polls by Real Clear Polling shows her leading James by more than seven points.
Armstrong thinks James' messaging of hope and inspiration resonated with the majority of Michiganders in the primary, and he says it is too early to put much stock in the head-to-head polls.
