John James Responds “Received. Accepted.” to Debate Commission Invite for Debate Next Week with Jocelyn Benson

Michigan faces a clear choice: bold, conservative leadership or Benson’s failed agenda

Shelby Township, Mich. — With Independent candidate and former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan now out of the race, John James for Governor today accepted the Michigan Debate Commission’s invitation to debate at the Mackinac Policy Conference, and called on Jocelyn Benson to face Michigan voters.

Earlier today, James posted a video noting that both he and Benson will be on Mackinac Island next week and that an opportunity exists for the leading candidate in each party to debate. His message to Michigan was simple: “I’ll be there.” When the official invitation arrived from the Michigan Debate Commission, James made his response equally clear: “Received. Accepted.”

The Commission invited James as the leading candidate in the Republican primary, based on a recent Glengariff Group survey, and extended the same invitation to Benson as the leading Democratic candidate. The debate will be streamed live on DetroitPBS and aired or streamed by a broad coalition of Michigan media partners, including the Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News, WDIV-TV, WJBK-TV, WWJ News Radio 950, Michigan Public, and Michigan News Network.

The choice for Michigan voters is now clear: bold, conservative leadership that unleashes Michigan’s full potential, or a continued decline under Jocelyn Benson, who would force the same failed Democrat policies that have driven up costs, weakened Michigan’s economy, and made it harder for working families to get ahead.

“I hear from moms every single day who are scared about what their kids are being taught in school, the criminals who should be locked up but aren’t. Worried their jobs or their family’s jobs are getting shipped out of state and they can’t afford their electricity bills anymore. Meanwhile, Lansing’s spending more of your tax dollars than ever, while Michigan ranks 44th in education and 44th in unemployment. This state is heading in the wrong direction and our families are paying the price.”

— John James

“The next governor of the state of Michigan is going to have a really tough job. That’s exactly why I want to do it. For my entire life, I’ve always run in the direction of fire, not away from it. Jocelyn Benson and I are both going to be on Mackinac Island next week. There’s an opportunity to debate. I’ll be there.”

— John James

Benson’s Draconian Business Agenda Would Hurt Michigan Families

Benson would continue Whitmer’s Green New Scam energy mandates, and let unaccountable agencies like EGLE pile compliance requirements on Michigan businesses with zero economic justification. John James will end it on day one, every new rule clears a meaningful economic impact review, full stop.

Benson’s SPLC Ties and Transparency Problem

Benson held a formal leadership role at the now federally indicted Southern Poverty Law Center during the years prosecutors say it was directing funds to the Ku Klux Klan. Now she’s in federal appeals court fighting President Trump’s DOJ to keep Michigan’s voter rolls — rolls she declared compliant under rules she wrote herself — shielded from scrutiny.

Michigan’s Education Crisis Demands a New Direction

Michigan ranks 44th in fourth-grade reading. Three in four kids aren’t at grade level. Benson would cut parents out of decisions about their own children. John James will put parents back in the driver’s seat, expand school choice, and take Michigan from 44th to first by 2037.

Benson’s Michigan: Open Borders, Open Season

Benson has spent her career making Michigan safer for criminals than citizens — fighting to keep non-citizens on voter rolls, backing sanctuary policies that shield criminal illegal immigrants from deportation, and opposing cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. John James will end sanctuary policies statewide, fully fund law enforcement, and work with federal partners to remove criminal illegal immigrants from Michigan communities.

Benson has not yet responded to the Michigan Debate Commission’s invitation.

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