Black supporters of Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s Democratic campaign for governor launched the “Black Voters for Benson” coalition Tuesday night in Detroit.
The event gathered various Black officeholders, organizers, and supporters at a crowded union hall on the city’s west side. Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, Rev. Horace Sheffield III, and Yusef Jackson, son of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., were among those in attendance.
Speakers often voiced their trust in Benson on issues like strengthening public education.
Alexis Butler, a high-school senior in Detroit, told the crowd she believed Benson would bring new opportunities for young people.
“She has also shown that she is willing to stand up for the voices of Michigan voters when it matters. For communities like mine, that commitment matters because the right to vote is a right that generations fought hard to secure,” Butler said.
Benson, who is white, is facing Republican gubernatorial nominee U.S. Rep. John James (R-MI 10), who is Black.
During her speech, Detroit Federation of Teachers President LaKia Wilson-Lumpkins said that shouldn’t matter.
“All skinfolks are not kinfolks. Staying at home in November is not an option. Brothers and sisters in this room, voting for John James is a vote against our own interests,” Wilson-Lumpkins said, before tying James to President Donald Trump’s policies.
For his part, James has largely shied away from discussing his race during his candidacy and promised to be a governor for all Michiganders -- though an opponent in the Republican primary attacked him as a “DEI candidate” in campaign ads. (The opponent, Perry Johnson, justified it as an attack on a diversity recognition award James’ family business received before he was in office.)
Republicans have, however, attacked Benson for racial discrimination lawsuits her office faces.
Benson has denied all accusations of racism and often discusses her time fighting against racial extremism while working with the Southern Poverty Law Center. She said her plan to help the Black community, among all other Michiganders, involves focusing on healthcare, housing, and wealth generation.
“We talk about raising the minimum wage and doing the bare minimum. I want to do more than that. I want generations who’ve been left out of opportunities for economic wealth generation to be a part of that now so we can invest in small business ownership and other things to grow our economy, particularly for communities who’ve been left out of that opportunity for far too long,” Benson told reporters.
Black turnout could be key this election, not just in Benson’s race but across all of Michigan’s major offices up for grabs.
Trump made historic inroads in the heavily Black city of Detroit during each of his runs. Though, without Trump on the ballot, it could be hard for Republicans to build on that progress in the Democratic stronghold.
According to city of Detroit election data, fewer than 3% of the city’s gubernatorial primary voters this month cast a ballot in the Republican race.
