Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, the Democratic and independent candidates for governor, criticized each other in person Monday evening during a governor candidate forum at the UAW 600 in Dearborn.
Intensity between the two candidates has increased, while the Democratic primary race for governor has been the opposite of contentious.
End Gun Violence Michigan and the UAW both said Republican candidates declined invitations to forums in recent days.
The role of corporate donations was the center of the conversation at the union hall in Dearborn on Monday, and candidates went back and forth over the influence of their donors.
While Duggan’s critics have pointed to donations from a former DTE executive, Benson’s links to the development of data centers has been a source of criticism from her rivals.
While Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson and Benson have both rejected accepting corporate donations during their campaigns for governor, Duggan criticized Benson for the move he suggested was politically convenient given Benson has accepted it in the past.
“I’m not going to pretend like I’m not taking corporate money when I am,” Duggan said Monday evening. “But we have got to be honest about what we’re talking about. Madam Secretary, you set up a PAC as Secretary of State. You took a $1.5 million contribution from Ken Duda, the man who builds the data warehouses and connects them across America, $1.5 million personal contribution into that PAC.”
Benson and her campaign Monday evening denied she’s taken money from DTE during her current campaign for governor, but Duggan insisted to look elsewhere for similar contributions in past campaigns.
UAW members inside the union hall Monday evening asked questions, sometimes probing one candidate specifically. A question on how candidates would put the interests of workers before corporate bosses led to another back and forth between Benson and Duggan.
“I hope, Mr. Duggan, that you’ve up until now refused to say who’s funding the several dark money accounts that are putting out millions of dollars in ads for your campaign,” Benson said. “But I hope you’ll tell us who the highest donors are to those now since we’re talking about who is beholden to who.”
Duggan pointed back to his endorsements, which he claims include more unions than any other candidates.
Benson, who criticized Duggan using dark money to boost his campaigns, struck a friendlier tone with Swanson.
Swanson at a forum at The Cathedral Church of St. Paul on Saturday said Benson and him are friends, and thanked her for running a “clean” campaign against him.
While candidates on Monday were vying for the endorsement of UAW members, over the weekend the forum centered around gun violence and public safety.
Bishop Bonnie Perry of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan moderated the conversation which featured questions about personal protective orders and gun safety laws from victims of violence and advocates.
She told Michigan Chronicle after the event she hopes to see less division among candidates like at Saturday’s forum.
“If we start doing what I saw two candidates with each other, we lift each other up,” Perry said. “We should all be civil and friendly and kind to everyone, regardless of our policy position. The divide, the contempt others seem to have is not helping us.”
