Representative John James, a two-term congressman from suburban Detroit, on Tuesday won the Republican nomination for governor of Michigan, The Associated Press said.
Mr. James, who was endorsed by President Trump, is expected to face a competitive general election race as Republicans seek to flip Michigan’s governorship. He will face Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who won the Democratic primary on Tuesday, according to The A.P. The Democratic incumbent, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, was ineligible to seek re-election because of term limits.
Mr. James is familiar to Michigan voters, having twice appeared on statewide ballots in recent years. He lost U.S. Senate races in 2018 and in 2020 before winning election to the U.S. House in a swing district in 2022.
Mr. James defeated Perry Johnson, a businessman who self-funded his campaign and called for eliminating the state income tax. On the campaign trail, Mr. James emphasized his military service and his endorsement from Mr. Trump. He would become Michigan’s first Black governor if he wins in November.
As governor, Mr. James said, he would seek to increase transparency in state government by requiring more financial disclosures from government officials and by eliminating exemptions in open records laws.
Michigan is an evenly divided swing state that is crucial in presidential races. President Trump won Michigan in 2016 and 2024, but Joseph R. Biden Jr. carried the state in 2020.
The state will once again be among the most closely watched places in the midterm elections this year, with offices that will administer the next presidential election on the ballot and control of the Michigan Legislature on the line. Voters will also elect a new U.S. senator in a race that could determine which party controls that chamber.
The race for governor will present voters with two established political figures with starkly different views of the country under Mr. Trump.
Ms. Benson, a two-term secretary of state, took on a public role in fighting attempts to overturn Mr. Biden’s victory in 2020 and in defending the accuracy of Michigan’s election results.
Since Mr. Trump returned to office, she has fought efforts to force the state to turn over its voter rolls to the federal government and has vowed to defend Michigan from what she describes as threats to democracy.
Mr. James has echoed Mr. Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was “rigged” and has criticized Ms. Whitmer’s administration of Michigan, saying the state is “on fire.”
“We have higher taxes, we have high electricity bills, our kids can’t read, and criminals are back on the street,” Mr. James said in a recent debate hosted by WJBK-TV. “But we can fix that.”
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