Lansing, MI – This morning Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson officially (and last night unofficially) launched her Gubernatorial campaign for 2026.
In her announcement video, Benson claimed she “ran for Secretary of State to make sure government is efficient and transparent.” But if you take one quick look at her record, you will find her time in Lansing is clouded with failures at the expense of taxpayers:
- Election laws championed by Benson allowed a Chinese National to illegally vote in the 2024 election.
- Those same laws have inflated our state’s qualified voter file, so much so that we have more registered voters than eligible voters in Michigan.
- Benson repeatedly used her position to put her thumb on the scales for Democrats in the 2024 Presidential election, fighting to keep RFK Jr. on the ballot while attempting to remove Cornel West.
- In the face of migrant crimes on the rise in Southeast Michigan, Benson supports driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants.
- In 2022, the Secretary of State’s office deliberately defied FOIA requests with Benson’s support, drawing objections from Michigan journalists.
- Time after time, courts have ruled against Benson for directing clerks to ignore absentee ballot signature verification laws.
- During the 2020 election, Benson’s office sent unsolicited absentee ballot applications to households across the state, and misprinted ballots sent to men and women serving overseas.
- During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Benson “fully supported” Whitmer’s stay-at-home orders, which shut down SOS offices across the state, and caused historic backlogs for license and tab renewals.
- Benson promised to expand transparency within the Secretary of State Department, but walked back initial efforts.
“Benson can try her best to rewrite her record in Lansing but facts are a stubborn thing. From day one, her time in Lansing has been riddled with failures and partisan antics at the expense of Michigan taxpayers,” said Zach Rudat, Advocacy Director for Michigan Freedom Fund. “Talk is cheap, but actions speak louder than words. Benson has shown Michiganders who she really is, and when someone in public office shows us who they really are, it’s in the taxpayer’s best interest to believe them.”
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