As Michigan prepares for its upcoming gubernatorial election, the political arena is heating up with allegations and counter-allegations between the major candidates. Congressman John James and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson are both seeking to replace outgoing Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and the competition is intense.
Republican candidate John James has criticized the performance of his Democratic opponent, Jocelyn Benson, during her tenure as Secretary of State. James highlighted issues such as misprinted drivers’ licenses and non-U.S. citizens appearing on voter rolls, as revealed by a state audit. “It is either incompetence, corruption, or both, and either one is disqualifying to be the governor of the state of Michigan,” James stated.
In response, Benson’s campaign emphasized her accomplishments, including reducing wait times at branch offices and enhancing the security and transparency of elections in Michigan. Benson’s Press Secretary, Rajan Srinivasan, said, “For the past eight years, Jocelyn Benson has proved she knows how to fix broken systems.”
The issue of misprinted driver’s licenses was attributed to a third-party vendor, with Benson’s office reportedly identifying and correcting the error by issuing new IDs.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has leveled accusations against James, alleging he did not disclose numerous stock trades as mandated by federal law. “James traded hundreds of stocks over his time in Congress and broke the law by failing to disclose 145 trades,” said Michigan Democratic Party spokesman Derrick Honeyman. Honeyman also noted that James’s family purchased stocks in SpaceX while he was on a committee overseeing the company.
James has dismissed these allegations, asserting they have already been “debunked.” He stated, “I never traded a single stock. But when I heard about it, we owned up to it. We went to ethics and now I’m in compliance.”
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