U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township made history this month defeating businessman Perry Johnson to earn the Michigan GOP nomination for governor.
He’s the second Black man to ever be a nominee for governor in the state’s history. James has an interesting relationship with his race, as his father is considered an important figure in regional Black business. He’s also shared opinions about race not typically espoused by a Republican in the era of Donald Trump, who endorsed James during the primary.
William Lucas, the former Wayne County executive, became the first Black gubernatorial nominee in the 1986 election.
Lucas was defeated by former Democratic Gov. Jim Blanchard.
After a stint as an FBI agent, Lucas became a Wayne County undersheriff and eventually was appointed sheriff to fill a vacancy. He was twice reelected after being elected Wayne County Sheriff in 1970. Lucas also won an election in 1982 for county executive, a new position at the time. He switched parties to run as a Republican for governor.
Republicans thought Lucas could get votes in Wayne County, where he was from. However, Blanchard won in a landslide. Civil rights leaders opposed Lucas’ bid.
There have only been three Black governors in the history of the United States; Virginia’s L. Douglas Wilder, elected in 1989, Deval Patrick of Massachusetts elected in 2006, and Maryland’s Wes Moore, elected in 2023.
Fewer than 10 Black Republicans have ever been elected to state-level positions in Michigan history.
More Black candidates across the country are running for governor.
In Florida, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds has the endorsement of President Donald Trump for the state’s top office for the 2026 election. And in Virginia, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears was the Republican nominee for the state’s gubernatorial election last year.
Democrat David Crowley won the Wisconsin primary for governor last week. He would become Wisconsin’s first Black governor and the first Black governor of a Midwestern state.
James has leaned into his family history as a candidate and has acknowledged systemic harms that he says he and his ancestors overcame.
“The fact is, this nation is the greatest nation in the world, but we can’t forget that to use Pharrell’s terms, ‘Stolen lands built with swollen hands,’” James said in 2020, during a candidate forum with U.S. Sen. Gary Peters hosted by One Detroit.
His Republican primary opponent Perry Johnson invoked his race in an attack ad, calling James, “The DEI Candidate!” Johnson also criticized James for saying that “all lives matter” in response to the Black Lives Matter protests were “hurtful and cruel.”
“A response of ‘all lives matter’ would be truthful,” James said in 2020. “But it would also be hurtful and cruel in the moment.”
During a debate, James used his family history to respond to claims he’s a “nepo baby” hurled by former GOP candidate for governor, Livonia attorney Mike Cox.
“I’m the son of a CEO who was a truck driver. His father was a mason. His father was a sharecropper, and his father was a slave. How dare you shame the steps it takes to come up from Mississippi and build a life of prosperity for a family like mine,” James said.
