LANSING — Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said her track record proves that, as Michigan governor, she could improve government operations and tackle problems like housing affordability, a lagging K-12 education system and too many people not earning a living wage.

Benson announced her campaign in late January, becoming the first Democrat to enter a primary that has since grown to include Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson and, soon, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II. Should she succeed term-limited Gretchen Whitmer, she would buck a longstanding trend of the governor’s office flipping between the major parties.

“The leader who will win in November of 2026 will be the leader who is able to show that they have the moral courage and the determination to lead not just their party but the state in this moment,” Benson told Crain’s in a recent interview. “And as a Democrat, for me it’s important in this moment that we show up and remind people who we are and who we’re able to be for the people of the state.”

Pointing to her work to cut wait times at Secretary of State branch offices and better the state’s election administration ranking, she listed three priorities she would have as governor.

No. 1 is housing affordability and access, followed by making Michigan a “top 10” education state and pursuing an economic policy that “invests in our people” and results in higher wages. 

“If we want Michigan to be a state where the best companies want to be, where the best talent needs to be, we need leaders who are running on a vision for and with a plan and a track record of lowering costs, of saving Michiganders time and money, and also working to improve a number of other things from housing affordability to child care access to even just the cost of food,” she said. Address those issues effectively, she said, and Michigan will still “be the best place to call home.”

Benson, 47, of Detroit, was elected secretary of state in 2018 and won re-election in 2022. She previously was CEO of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality, a nonprofit founded by Miami Dolphins owner and Related Cos. founder Stephen Ross, after being dean of the Wayne State University Law School.

The daughter of two special education teachers graduated from Wellesley College, earned a master’s from the University of Oxford and has a Harvard University law degree.

Benson noted that her son will be 18 years old in a decade and that she wants him to make Michigan where he builds a family, works and, if he chooses, starts a business.

“If we want our kids to stay and more folks to come to our state, we have to prioritize investing in our people, investing in bringing down costs and expanding opportunities to prosper in this state for everyone,” she said.

Benson cited her experience running large public institutions and said she “knows how to get things done.” She said she wants to “cut through the noise and the rhetoric” to address issues with data-driven decisions informed by policy experts and best practices.

“As much as it’s been a priority of this administration to fix the roads, it’s going to be a priority of my administration to fix the housing crisis,” she said.

Benson noted that Michigan ranks 41st in education, an apparent reference to the most recent Kids Count report from The Annie E. Casey Foundation.

“We cannot be a state that attracts the best and brightest and keeps them here if we don’t have a public education system that is among the best in the country,” she said.

That means studying states that are doing it well, figuring out best practices and working with the business community and others “to not just better invest in public education but make sure our outcomes and our standards are being met and among the best in the country,” she said.

She said building a knowledge-based economy will be critical to Michigan’s success in the next decade. There is a need, she said, to diversify in-state industries, prepare for artificial intelligence and invest in sectors like climate tech and biotech. 

She wants to holistically rethink economic development policies. She also said it is “unacceptable” that so many Michigan residents make less than $50,000 a year.

She said the next governor will be the candidate who is best able to persuade voters that he or she can make people’s lives a little easier and find ways to save them time and money.

Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt is the main Republican contender to date. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, a former Democrat, is running as an independent, which may hurt whichever Democrat wins the primary, though he could attract Republicans, too.

A Target Insyght poll of 344 registered voters expected to vote in the Democratic primary, conducted March 3-6, showed Benson with 55% support 17 months from the primary. Gilchrist had 12%; Swanson had 3%. Thirty percent of respondents were undecided or backed non-candidates. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 5.7 percentage points.

Benson noted that in the 2020 and 2024 elections, she won in counties, such as Calhoun and Van Buren, that other Democrats did not on her way to two statewide victories.

Asked how Democrats can win back voters following Donald Trump’s 2024 victory, she said candidates are successful when they “talk about the issues that matter most to our residents.” People who feel abandoned by those they elect will sit out or vote for the other side, she said.

“To me, what Democrats need to do better is listen and then take action,” she said, describing her campaign as a “listening tour across the state that is focused on hearing people and recognizing the themes that emerge” like housing, education, child care and wages. “I want to make government actually address those issues from an administrative standpoint and also from a policy standpoint, budgetary standpoint.”