Democratic nominee for Michigan governor Jocelyn Benson is the latest gubernatorial candidate to get an ad from former President Barack Obama.
“As Secretary of State, Jocelyn proved that government can solve big problems and stand up to powerful interests,” Obama says in the ad. “Now she’s running for governor to lower health care costs, build more homes and fight for every child’s right to a quality education. Jocelyn has real answers to the problems keeping families up at night.”
The popular former president over the last week has become involved in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, announcing campaign stops and tv ads. He’s cut ads
Obama will visit Detroit to support Benson and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Saturday, Oct. 24, the start of early voting.
The first Black president remains one of the most popular figures in Democratic politics nearly a decade after he left office. The visit is seen as a move to secure African American voters who supported U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, El-Sayed’s primary opponent.
Black voters have come under the microscope as Republican campaigns visit Detroit in hopes to peel off voters frustrated with the progressive direction of the Democratic party candidates, particularly El-Sayed.
El-Sayed has criticized Obama, saying the former president “perpetuatied war” and “violated civil liberties” in columns written at the end of Obama’s first term. El-Sayed compared his criticism of Obama to his relationship with his dad, saying in an interview with Michigan Chronicle last week that he loves his father even though he didn’t do everything right.
Benson is leading in recent polling and is outspending her opponent, U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township, in a 23-1 advantage, according to TV commercial tracker Ad Impact.
James, who has campaigned in Metro Detroit more than past Republican gubernatorial candidates, would become Michigan’s first Black governor if he were to win. James posted a photo outside the Charles H. Wright Museum in Detroit this week, saying in a caption, “Our father helped build this place, and we’re going to keep it standing.”
James’ family has ties to the city. His father, who became a prominent businessman in the freight-shipping industry, remains involved in the museum as a board member. James’ father broke racial barriers in the 1970s by challenging discriminatory practices that excluded African Americans from trucking.
James, who defeated self-financed businessman Perry Johnson in the Republican primary election, hasn’t shied away from talking about his identity or acknowledging issues disproportionately affecting Black residents during his gubernatorial campaign. He turned heads last month touring the city in a luxury car with rapper 42 Dugg, who went back on his support of James after facing intense criticism online.
Benson, who has lived in Detroit for two decades, has been intentional in highlighting her support for Black issues and the organizations promoting them. The two-term Secretary of State has also long championed herself as a fighter for Civil Rights.
Benson during her campaign has promoted a commitment to addressing the Black maternal health crisis and the racial wealth gap.
Earlier this year at a campaign event in Flint, Benson said lawmakers, “Have a moral responsibility” to prioritize and address the Black maternal health care crisis, “with the urgency and it demands.”
Her campaign is holding monthly meetings made up of twelve members; lawmakers, advocates and other Black women supporters, who provide feedback, track engagement and offer updates to the campaign.
The Democratic candidate has long tied her political aspirations to her experiences early in her career as an investigator in Montgomery, Alabama.
After college, Benson investigated white supremacist and neo-Nazi extremist groups that emerged following the Oklahoma City bombing at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Every year Benson goes back to Selma for the anniversary of Bloody Sunday in a symbolic recommitment to continuing the work of the civil rights movement.
The SPLC has been the target of political attacks after the Department of Justice earlier this year accused the organization of funding the same groups it was investigating. Anti-Benson TV ads featuring the claim, which the SPLC has denied, aired earlier this summer.
