Democrat Benson, GOP's James tackle affordability, federal relations at gubernatorial debate

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following story has been republished with permission from Michigan Advance.

By Katherine Dailey
Michigan Advance

GRAND RAPIDS — The relationship between Michigan and the federal government — especially when it comes to the tariffs levied by the Trump administration — was central throughout the first general election debate of Michigan’s gubernatorial election between Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Republican U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Township) on Tuesday night. 

Benson was specifically critical of James’ record in the U.S. House and what she said is a refusal of James to stand up to President Donald Trump on the issue of tariffs, especially those levied against Canada.

“They are costing Michigan $5,600 each household, more than any other state in the nation. And anyone who’s supposed to go to Washington to fight for us should be fighting to drive down those tariffs, push back on those tariffs. But he has not,” Benson said. 

But James responded that he has “actually never voted to increase tariffs on Canada, despite what she says, and I’ve actually called out the administration specifically, talking with the trade ambassador and saying that we must get back to the table, stop acting like children, and negotiate a reciprocal, fair, and mutually beneficial arrangement to make sure that we can bring our jobs back, protect our industry.” 

Benson also proposed, as she has said in the past, that she plans to negotiate a subnational trade agreement between Michigan and Canada, in which goods going directly between those are not subject to tariffs and costs. 

Asked by reporters after the debate how exactly the agreements would work, Benson said that “States have the sovereignty to actually engage in subnational agreements like this, and there’s plenty of examples of this,” citing New York Gov. Kathy Hochul as having already made such an agreement, though it was not clear from research that New York state has any such agreement in place with Canada. “We’re going to work to make sure that these are legally enforceable agreements to protect the people of Michigan, drive down costs, and protect our jobs.”

James also pushed back against the actual efficacy of those agreements, saying that in the past, subnational agreements have failed to bring jobs to Michigan. 

“The fact of the matter is, there are six states that have higher export percentages than Michigan. Five of them are run by Republican governors. Two of them are in the top five overall, and all of them are doing better,” he said. “Each of the states that we’re looking to for guidance on where we can be and what we can do economically are run by Republican governors.”

James also said that he introduced a bill Tuesday called the Trade Act “to make sure that we protect our jobs and lower costs, because I’m dedicated to bringing solutions and doing things, and not just pointing the fingers and complaining. Michigan’s lost too many jobs.”

He first proposed the bill at a forum at the Detroit Economic Club, but because Congress is not in session, the bill has yet to be introduced, and details of the specific relief that the legislation would promise are not available publicly. 

They also discussed how to respond to other federal actions — including immigration agents’ presence in the state. 

James emphasized cooperation with federal law enforcement within Michigan’s communities.

“We’re going to make sure that we’re prioritizing violent offenders, and we’re going to make sure that we enforce the law,” he said. “Frankly, I don’t believe we’re going to need ICE presence in the state of Michigan because we are going to be enforcing the law. So again, prioritizing violent offenders, working and abiding by federal law, and coordinating closely with our communities.”

Benson, meanwhile, asked about the presence of immigration agents in schools, said that she often saw the use and abuse of federal authority to “terrorize” communities. 

“It requires a governor who is willing to and ready to stand up to the President of the United States and use every legal tool in my toolbox, which other governors have done, and we’ve seen that do that successfully to protect the people of Michigan from the encroachment of ICE and the harm that they are creating in communities across our state,” Benson added after the debate. “I’ll proudly do that as governor, just as I’ve stood up to the president to protect our elections in this state. I’ve honed that ability to be unafraid to stand up to anyone, anytime, anywhere who would try to infringe upon the constitutional rights and freedoms of our citizens.”

Affordability in Michigan was also paramount at the debate — and both candidates said that they supported a potential suspension of both state and federal gas taxes to lower prices at the pump as gas prices reach some of the highest levels in the nation. 

Those high gas prices have come as the war in Iran continues — and Benson claimed that James has supported, through votes in Congress and loyalty to his party, the continuation of that war and as such the continued high gas prices. 

But James emphasized during the debate, as well as to reporters after, that he has told the president privately and publicly that he supports a swift end to the war.

“I applaud the administration for using every economic and every diplomatic resource at their disposal. Iran cannot have a nuke, but we need to wrap this thing up like, yesterday,” he said. “As somebody who’s been to war and actually been shot at, I understand the toll and the price of war.”

Benson also focused on lowering costs of electricity through continued diversification of Michigan’s energy grid with clean energy, something that James has said he would seek to roll back from policies put in place under the Whitmer administration. 

“I live in Detroit. Every month, I see my electricity bills go up and my outages increase as well,” she said. “I know the next governor of Michigan must ensure we are ending profit-driven rate hikes that have gotten us here, where our electricity bills are going up in some cases more than many other states, and also invest in clean energy infrastructure because frankly, that is the only thing that will reduce our energy costs in the long term.”

Meanwhile, James proposed addressing policies that he said increase costs for housing developers by more than $100,000 before they even put a shovel in the ground. 

“We also need to increase our workforce development. We need to make sure that we’re getting more labor to the front,” he said. “We need to reform our laws and make it more difficult to grow opportunity and jobs and have everybody assess them. These are the types of things that leadership brings and a governor will bring to make sure that everybody can experience prosperity as well as better housing prices.”

Both also pitched plans to make healthcare more affordable — Benson through reforms to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, including a prescription drug affordability board, and James defending his votes on federal Medicaid policy, stating, “Medicaid will not be taken away from people who are working at least 80 hours.”

Both candidates also pitched themselves as candidates of change and reform — Benson as a foil to Trump, and James as a shift from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. 

They also each worked to tie each other to the respective current leader of their own party, in Trump and Whitmer, something that both candidates also pushed back on.

“I’ve stood up to the president many times. I’ve said that I can group the president without worshiping him. I can disagree without attacking him, and I always put Michigan first,” James said. “The fact of the matter is, she is holding me to a double standard when she has never, not once, stood up to Gretchen Whitmer before she needed a campaign issue.”

“The choice in this race is simple. Who do you want the next governor to work for? I will work for you, and my opponent has already shown us that he won’t. Because as governor, he’ll do exactly what he did in Congress: raise your prices, get rich, and do everything Donald Trump asks him to do,” Benson responded. “So, if you like gas pushing $5 a gallon, our mortgage rates over 7% or tariffs taxing just about everything we pay for, then John James is your guy.”

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