Question 1): Republican gubernatorial nominee John James has picked two-term state Rep. Jay DEBOYER (R-Clay Twp) to be his Lieutenant Governor running mate. DeBoyer, a former St. Clair Co. Clerk, is currently chairman of the House Oversight Committee and has conducted a number of highly visible public hearings targeting Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who is the Democrats’ nominee for governor this year.
James said the reason he picked DeBoyer was because of the legislator’s experience in small business (lumber), his history as a local elected official, and his focus on election integrity. The state’s top GOP leadership quickly hailed James’s selection of DeBoyer, 56, who has been seen as a rising star among legislative Republicans.
However, whether it’s been conventional wisdom, common sense, tradition, or the way things happened to work out, the Michigan Republican Party has had at least one woman at the top of its statewide ticket every four years beginning in 1982. Because Republicans have already endorsed Macomb County Clerk Anthony FORLINI as their Secretary of State nominee and Eaton County Prosecutor Doug LLOYD as their Attorney General nominee, the only slot left for a female would have been LG, who could be certified at the GOP’s state convention in Mt. Pleasant this coming Saturday. Instead, James has tabbed DeBoyer, who will have to give up his re-election bid for his state House seat because it’s illegal to run for two different offices at the same time.
Speculation was that James was also considering former state House Speaker Tom Leonard, who aborted his campaign for governor months ago; state Senator Ruth Johnson, a former Secretary of State; and ex-Attorney General Mike Cox, who suspended his campaign for governor this year too late to be removed from the 8/4 ballot, on which he garnered a surprising 13% of the vote. Also, various pundits speculated about term-limited state Senator Lana Theis (R-Brighton); state Rep. Ann Bollin (R-Brighton), who like DeBoyer would have had to give up her chances for a fifth term in the House; term-limited state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Lawton); and even Candice Miller, the Macomb Co. Public Works Commissioner who would have been the best possible choice for James but who wouldn’t accept the invitation if offered.
The last time either major Michigan political party had an all-male ticket was in 1978, when the Republicans put up incumbent Gov. William MILLIKEN, Lt. Gov. nominee James BRICKLEY, Secretary of State nominee Mel LARSEN (of Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act fame) and Attorney General nominee Stephen BRANSDORFER. For what it’s worth, 1978 turned out to be a terrible year for the Michigan GOP. Yes, Milliken/Brickley won easily against a flawed Democratic nominee, Bill Fitzgerald, but the entire rest of the ticket got wiped out. Republican U.S. Senator Bob Griffin (the only man ever to beat Frank Kelley, in 1972) was ousted by Democrat Carl Levin, two GOP Congressmen (Elford Cederberg and Garry Brown) were knocked off, and only one of the party’s eight state education board candidates (Barbara Dumouchelle) managed to win.
If DeBoyer is cleared by delegates to next week-end’s Republican state convention (a virtual certainty), the GOP’s executive committees in Macomb and Saint Clair counties are required to select a replacement candidate for DeBoyer’s 63rd House district seat, as was done when then-Rep. Brian CALLEY was tapped to become former Gov. Rick SNYDER‘s lieutenant governor in 2010.
So, the big question is, did James blow it by not picking a female running mate?
Answer 1): Probably, but he didn’t have many prospects to choose from, especially if we rule out any females seeking re-election. Hard to believe any of them would give up the office they’re seeking to be James’s running mate, although DeBoyer has decided differently.
Why not someone like Lana Theis, who has conservative, Tea Party, MAGA-like bona fides?
She would have been a good pick, or maybe Ruth Johnson, who ran for LG 20 years ago. She actually beat Benson for SoS in 2010. Nobody remembers that. However, Johnson is now 71 years old and has indicated the state Senate is her last rodeo. DeBoyer’s conservative profile is as strong as Theis’s.
Ultimately, either of these women is a nothingburger to the electorate. Think about it. Nobody is going to vote for James because Theis or Johnson (who went down with the ship as Dick DeVos’s LG partner two decades ago) is his running mate. In fact, nothing can help James, but he’s got to try.
What is the response to those who say it doesn’t matter if the Republicans run an all-male ticket for the first time since 1978?
They may be right for the wrong reasons. They will almost certainly lose no matter the gender of the person they nominate. Is that what they want? No, but evidently they’re so confident they’ll win that it doesn’t matter whom they nominate. Of course, they’re wrong, but they’ll find out the hard way.
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Question 2): Who makes the most sense as a Lieutenant Governor for Jocelyn Benson?
Answer 2): Benson doesn’t have to make her choice as early as James, because the Democratic conclave isn’t until Aug. 29 in the Lansing Center. Benson could make history by picking a woman running mate — that would result in the first all-female top-of-the-ticket in Michigan history. Both Jennifer Granholm and Gretchen Whitmer had the same opportunity but for various reasons passed it up. Benson might pick the woman she helped persuade to run for the state Senate in 2018 — Mallory McMorrow, who knocked off an incumbent Republican and went on to run an abbreviated campaign for the U.S. Senate this year. There is also term-limited Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids), the state Senate Majority Leader during the past four years. She would give Benson, who has an amorphous SE Michigan presence, some West Michigan “balance.”
If the objective is “ticket-balancing,” the ideal for Benson would be a white gentile male, ideally from Metro Detroit. Who might fit that description? Believe it or not, Mike Duggan, but it’s impossible to see that happening. For one thing, he just announced he’ll become a partner in the government relations group of the Honigman law firm, Michigan’s largest. Early in his tenure as Detroit mayor, Duggan once employed Benson’s husband and that might have been a factor in Duggan’s decision not to take on Benson in a Democratic primary for governor and opt instead to run as an independent. In any event, it would be hard for Duggan to confine himself to presiding over the state Senate, or to play second fiddle to anyone at the helm of state government, even if Benson would give him a major, larger-than-life role.
For that matter, does Benson need Duggan to help her win the governorship? No, she just needs to avoid stubbing her toe. If, like Granholm, she feels she needs an LG with expertise in negotiating her agenda through the Legislature, many have suggested Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. But Benson already has an African-American, Garlin Gilchrist II, running near her on the ballot for Secretary of State, and Anthony would have to give up her current bid for a second Senate term to run as Benson’s running mate. That wouldn’t be as problematic as Jay DeBoyer’s decision to do exactly that to run as John James’s LG partner, but the result might be just as troublesome for Anthony — she would arguably have more influence as chair of the Senate’s spending panel than she would as Benson’s second-in-command.
A better model for Benson might be former Senate Democratic Leader Jim Ananich of Flint — he’s not from Metro Detroit, but he’s geographically nearby in Michigan’s fifth-biggest county and he’d check all the other boxes she needs. Ananich would be most analogous to John Cherry, also from Genesee County, filling that role for Jennifer Granholm. That worked out quite well for the Democrats, both politically and in governance.
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Let’s keep emotions, hormones and communists out of politics, please? Thank you for your attention to this matter.
I largely agree with this article.
The race for governor shall be Jocelyn Benson’s to lose. It is the easiest race for Democrats this election cycle. James was the anointed representative of moneyed interests in the Michigan Republican Party.
I predicted Aric Nesbitt as the James running mate as this made more sense. He is from west Michigan and has solid credentials in Lansing. Tom Leonard would have likewise been a reasonable choice. The pick of DeBoyer was a surprise.
James is my 10th District U.S. Congressman and has done his best to alienate grassroots party leaders by non-appearance at key GOP events this election cycle. Perry Johnson was beloved in Macomb County, but enthusiasm for James has waned during his uneventful service in the U.S. House.
Jan DeBoyer was initially elected to his Michigan House seat by mere electoral plurality – squeaking in when two popular constitutionalist outsiders split that vote – Jacky Eubanks and Jake Skarbek. Eubanks was an election denier and Skarbek was a Second Amendment activist. DeBoyer was the moderate reasonable pro-business candidate who won a primary and later easily defeated the Democratic nominee; he has done a respectable job in Lansing.
The first Michigan post-primary poll has been published. Fox News shows James losing by a 52%-47% margin to Benson – while Mike Rogers leads Dr. El-Sayed by a 51%-47% count. It shows a vast difference in how the electorate views Mike Rogers vs. John James.
Interesting article, Bill. And as for those not remembering Ruth Johnson, you did, but I think you’re right and she really felt this term was her last rodeo. And if that is the case, asking her before someone else would have been a mistake. Asking her if others had said no would make her the equivalent of R. Sargent Shriver to George McGovern. As for state senator Theis….
I do not pretend to know the inner machinations of either party. What I do know of DeBoyer is that he seems willing to pop up on OTR and seems to take the questions in relatively good cheer. He seems to enjoy it and does not treat it like undergoing a dozen root canals without the benefit of anesthesia. There is something to say for that. As for Mr. James, he has a good life story. If his plan is to be the “good cop” and Mr. DeBoyer the “bad cop”, it may make sense.
As for Ms Benson’s options, among your suggestions was former Senate Democratic Leader Jim Ananich. He would be a good choice if she felt she needed a legislative point person to fill gaps or holes in her own skill set. You referenced Jennifer Granholm’s choice of John Cherry, but did Granholm really use him? I don’t think so. His subsequent running for governor was a wee bit more than an incomplete success which suggests that he was given the mushroom treatment by Granholm.
If Benson wants to go outside the box, I suggest state representative Noah Arbit. If Dana Nessel is afraid to attend her own party’s state convention, nominating Rep. Arbit would be one way of telling the assembled delegates that there is no place for Jew hatred and antisemitism in the Michigan Democratic Party. It would be an act of courage, especially given Nessel’s absence and Haley Stevens’ reception at the earlier convention. It all depends on how much she wants to fight for the soul of the party or gloss and paper over divisions in hopes of winning. Regardless of her choice, you will keep us informed on the goings on. As they used to say in my youth, film at 11.
Eli Savit is Jewish and received the enthusiastic support of Arab-American and Muslim-American delegates at the April 19th, 2026 Michigan Democratic party convention.
Democratic officeholders who receive massive AIPAC support like Haley Stevens can expect receiving boos and other forms of First Amendment activity directed toward them at conventions. I am guessing she may avoid the August convention altogether as Dana Nessel has chosen to do.
Anti-Semitism allegations are poppycock in either major party.
The Green Party USA received anti-Semitism allegations for adopting a one-state solution plank for Israel. Israel’s Green Party (Meretz) has held seats in the Knesset.
Lana Theis is from Livingston County, the state’s 10th-largest county. Republicans need a H-U-G-E margin here to offset losses elsewhere. It was a big mistake on James’s part in not picking her.
Quick question: putting aside the gender issue, doesn’t it seem somewhat problematic that the Republicans ticket.represents such a small geographic footprint?
You mean that both James and DeBoyer are from SE Michigan (actually Macomb County)? It probably will not matter in November as it seems likely that Democrats will win the top offices in MI anyway.
James is a very attractive candidate on paper, but less attractive in reality, He sold his soul to Trump. Trump’s endorsement–and declining popularity–won’t gain him much support from independent voters, who outnumber either Democrats or Republicans. Just guessing, but by 2028, won’t voters elsewhere in the state have other concerns than regional ticket balancing?
Really good article on running mates for 2026 Michigan Governors race.
I believe Jay DeBoyer is a respected conservative legislator but he brings. nothing to the table to help James win its a missed opportunity.
Ruth Johnson would have been the strongest ticket for James. She well know state wide. Vast experience in state government and the legislator. From vote rich Oakland County and could have helped James in were elections are won on the margins.
ANSWER 1) “Republican gubernatorial candidate John James has picked two-term…..” This statement, as Richard Nixon’s press secretary Ron Ziegler infamously said, is inoperative. Lame James can’t even so much as pick his nose without getting permission from his handlers. He is so pathetic that he cannot even speak extemporaneously (as I so painfully discovered) at the Kent County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner. When asked to come up to the podium, he barely managed to mumble no more than twenty seconds of one syllable words before hastily leaping from the stage, returning to his table, and quickly departing the event before desert was served. Accordingly, it makes no difference if his handlers chose a woman (transgendered or not) for the running mate. His helicopter is scheduled for a crash landing on November 3rd.
ANSWER 2) Benson’s best choice has been right before her eyes all along. She couldn’t help but notice him. He is friendly, gregarious, enthusiastic, lively, and can bring in traditional Demoncrats, especially in the area just west of where the index finger meets the thumb (hold up your right hand, palm facing you, for a map). By now you should have guessed, he is none other than Chris Swanson, Genesee County Sheriff. He brings balance to the entire ticket, especially considering who the Demoncrats have selected as their AG candidate. But he simply must get rid of that awful hair style. My suggestion is that he proceed to Owosso and pay a visit to Karl the Barber at once.