Benson, Michigan’s two-term secretary of state, won the open governor’s seat, defeating Rep. John James to keep the office in Democratic hands.
Jocelyn Benson, 49, is an election lawyer who has run elections longer than she has run for them. She was dean of Wayne State University’s law school at 34, wrote a book on secretaries of state, and was elected Michigan’s secretary of state in 2018. In that job she oversaw the 2020 and 2024 elections in one of the country’s most contested states, through recount fights and national pressure.
She succeeds Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who was term-limited, and becomes the latest in a run of Democratic women elected to lead Michigan.
Her agenda will be tested by the state’s roads, its auto industry’s shift to electric vehicles and a closely watched economy. Watch her first moves on roads funding — the issue Michigan voters rank above almost all others.
Fast facts
- Age: 49
- Party: Democratic
- Office: Governor of Michigan
- State: Michigan
- Previous job: Michigan secretary of state (since 2019)
- Called by AP: verified in the desk’s 3:30 a.m. ET check, Nov. 4
Part of the Zark News Election 2026 winners profile series. Winners are listed as called by the Associated Press.
