Michigan’s Democratic and Republican candidates for governor are both vying for votes from Black Detroiters ahead of the general election on Nov. 3.
Detroit has the largest number of registered voters of any municipality in Michigan. With approximately 527,000 registered voters, it’s the most significant voting bloc in the state.
GOP nominee U.S. Rep. John James turned heads after he spoke on stage at rapper 42 Dugg’s ‘4 the Trenches’ Tour’ on Friday, Aug. 20 at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheater.
James thanked the rappers who invited him on stage before declaring he wasn’t there for politics.
“It’s not about the parties, both parties have failed,” James said. “It’s about what’s best for us and for our future. I was raised in Detroit. I went to West Point. I flew Apaches in combat, and I came back to grow jobs in Detroit. I’m running to serve you so that we can have more access to capital in the city, more contracts in the city, and more access to a better future in the city.”
James posted and then deleted a video of his remarks at the concert Friday. It’s not clear why the video was deleted. However, it contained audio of 42 Dugg’s “We Not Done,” and what appears to be crowd noise ripped from this, “Cheering Crowd Sound Effect” video on Youtube.
Later in the weekend, James was pictured with another Detroit rapper, Icewear Vezzo, for a backpack giveaway at O’Brien Park on 6 Mile.
“Today was a great day in Detroit, with hundreds of community members preparing for back-to-school tomorrow!” James said in a post. “Thank you to Detroits own Icewear Vezzzo for giving this amazing event!”
Detroit rappers have for years involved themselves in local and national political campaigns. James spoke ahead of President Donald Trump at an event in 2024 at Pastor Lorenzo Sewell’s 180 Church, where Vezzo, Sada Baby and Peezy were also in attendance.
Vezzo spoke in support of Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield during her mayoral race against Pastor Solomon Kinloch. Peezy and Vezzo were among a group of entertainers invited by Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield earlier this year for a roundtable discussion about the state of the city’s arts and culture industry.
James visited Sewell’s church on the city’s westside last month, weeks before the controversial pastor hosted racist agitator Jake Lang ahead of his anti-Muslim rally in Dearborn.
“Thank you Pastor Lorenzo Sewell for inviting me to join you at 180 Church in Detroit,” James said in a post to social media. “We had a great discussion about the importance of election integrity, serving our communities, and the future of Michigan. These conversations matter. They strengthen our movement and remind us what’s at stake. Thank you for all you’re doing to serve Detroit!”
Benson’s campaign has been showing up at Black churches in Detroit and organizations made up of reliable Democratic voters.
At Tech Town in Detroit’s New Center neighborhood earlier this month, Benson sat down with a number of small Black business owners who told her what they need from the state.
After the Aug. 12 tour, hosted by Tech Town CEO Ned Staebler, a Democratic donor, Benson said she wants to be different than outgoing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer by focusing on state support for small businesses looking for additional resources.
“We need to grow our economy by investing in multiple industries, small businesss growth, and I’m eager to get started on this work because this is how we actually build wealth and create more jobs,” Benson said.
At the Trade Union Leadership Council on Grand River, Benson was introduced by the late Jesse Jackson’s son, Yusef Jackson, who called Benson, “Sister Jocelyn.”
“We have a candidate who has the right spirit… Now we must do our part. We must register, even the same day. We must go to our neighbor and help turn out. We must organize, and when the election is over, we must hold her accountable,” Jackson said. “Not because we don’t trust her, but because she will face powerful lobbyists and powerful interests and powerful pressures. We must be the center pressure to the pressure she feels to keep our agenda front and center.”
Benson has said she would address issues directly affecting Black residents, like maternal healthcare.
“As your next governor, I will treat and prioritize and address the Black maternal health care crisis with the urgency and it demands,” Benson said earlier this year. She wants to invest in Medicaid-covered doula and midwife services, require bias training for maternal healthcare providers and increase access to prenatal and postpartum care.
She has also advocated for expanding RxKids, a universal cash program that studies say has improved the quality of life for new mothers and their children.
Lakia Wilson-Lumpkins, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, said at the Trade Union Leadership Council building that Benson understands the challenges facing Detroit’s young people and educators.
“Jocelyn understands education from more than one perspective,” Wilson-Lumpkins said. “She’s an educator, she’s a parent and she is the daughter of special education teachers. She understands what happens in the classroom then shapes the trajectory of a child’s entire life.”
James and Michigan’s Republican Party are making efforts to reach Black voters in Detroit, but they face an uphill battle in the city known as a Democratic stronghold.
Polling by Fox News shows Benson with a massive lead among Black voters, leading James among Black voters by 74% (86% – 12%).
“Staying home in November is not an option,” Wilson-Lumpkins said. “Voting for John James is a vote against our own. It is a vote for Trump and an open door for racist, sexist xenophobic, fascist movement to expand here in our Michigan.”
Trump’s presidential campaign in 2024 and the Michigan Republican Party have increased direct outreach to Black voters in Detroit since 2020.
U.S. Sen. candidate Mike Rogers last week held an event on the city’s west side with Democratic state Rep. Karen Whitsett, who last year disavowed her party citing religious reasons.
Whitsett represents what Republicans believe is a growing population of disaffected former Democrats willing to vote for conservatives who they align with on cultural issues. Republicans gained with city of Detroit voters in 2024, with President Trump earning nearly 20,000 votes, an increase of about 8,000 votes in 2020.
While James himself lives in Shelby Township and went to Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Township, his family has ties to the city of Detroit. His father, a philanthropist, was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in September 2024, and is considered a pioneer for Black truckers.
“My father, John A. James, was born in the Jim Crow South,” James said. “He lived across the street from Mississippi State University and couldn’t attend classes because he was Black. But he did not allow the circumstances of his birth to dictate his destiny. He enlisted in the Army, served in Vietnam, and then moved to Detroit to start a company with one truck, one trailer and no excuses.”
