Fact checks: John James, Perry Johnson on tax cuts, data centers and more

US Rep. John James and businessman Perry Johnson are the last candidates standing in Michigan’s Republican gubernatorial primary
James has faced campaign finance and voting record accusations, while some question the reality of Johnson’s income tax cut plan
Bridge Michigan has the facts ahead of the Aug. 4 primary

LANSING — With just two Republican candidates left in the race for governor, voters will have the chance to decide between US Rep. John James and businessman Perry Johnson in Michigan’s Aug. 3 primary.

James and Johnson have slugged it out through the campaign, especially since other candidates dropped out, accusing one another of everything from doing business overseas to being beholden to data center developers.

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With disagreements surfacing, Bridge is fact-checking claims in the gubernatorial primary, where the winner of the GOP race will take Democrat Jocelyn Benson or Chris Swanson in the Nov. 3 general election.

President Donald Trump has already weighed in, giving his “total endorsement” to James in late June on social media. But that hasn’t stopped Johnson from staying in the race — and pouring more than $30 million of his own money into his campaign for Michigan governor.

Let’s get into it.

Claim #1: Will Perry Johnson’s income tax cut plan give $4,747 to Michiganders?

No.

Despite how much Johnson has claimed his plan to eliminate Michigan’s 4.25% income tax “will return an estimated $4,747 per year to the average family of four,” a Bridge Michigan review found those savings to be overstated.

Johnson, in a social media video explaining the figures behind his promise, said that Michigan’s median income for a family of four is $111,690. By eliminating the state income tax, he argued, families making that much would see “$4,747 every year in your pocket,” in lieu of paying income tax.

On its face, that math essentially checks out. Michigan currently has a 4.25% income tax, and the median family of four actually earns a bit more than Johnson claims.

But taxes aren’t so simple.

After exemptions, subtractions and credits, single and joint filers who earn between $110,000 and $120,000 paid an effective Michigan income tax rate of 3.01% in 2021, the most recent year for which state data is available.

Filers with gross incomes of $111,691 paid an average state tax of $3,406 that year – about 30% less than Johnson claimed.

What’s more: The median income for a Michigan family of four is actually much higher than Johnson claimed at about $123,010, according to the most recent US Census Bureau data. Filers who earned that much in 2021 paid an effective tax rate of 3.11%, or about $3,826.

So while families would save significant money if the income tax were eliminated, it wouldn’t be as much as Johnson suggested. And, because Michigan has a flat tax, higher income earners would actually save much more than the typical family of four on a dollar-by-dollar basis.

To learn more, click here.

Claim #2: Is John James’ campaign supported by data center developers?

Yes, though the devil’s in the details.

Johnson accused James during a July 8 debate of having received $107,000 in political contributions from “the people building the data centers” and $39,000 “by the people powering the data centers.”

His comments appear to be referencing the Rakolta family and its Detroit-based Walbridge construction firm that is building data centers, including a massive Saline facility the company has touted as its largest ever project.

To that end, Johnson’s claim of $107,000 in political contributions to James is mostly accurate, though not precise.

A Bridge review revealed a slightly higher total in related donations — but most came during prior campaigns, before the data center boom and James’ current gubernatorial run.

Federal Election Commission records show members of the Rakolta family, along with past and present executives of Walbridge, donated a combined $97,200 to James’ prior campaigns for US Senate and House. The majority of the money was contributed during the 2022 and 2024 campaign cycles, when James was running to represent Macomb County in the US House.

The donors included John Rakolta and his children, John Rakolta III and Lauren Rakolta, who founded, own and run Walbridge. Michael Haller, Walbridge’s CEO, and his spouse along with Randall Abdallah, a member of Walbridge’s board, also gave to James’ campaign.

John Rakolta is a longtime GOP booster and has also been a supporter of President Donald Trump, who he shared a stage with in 2024 during a Trump campaign stop in Detroit.

A recent Bridge analysis tracked $113,850 in contributions to James from the Rakoltas or Walbridge officials since 2018.

Most of those contributions were to his prior campaigns, but a new filing filed Friday showed Rakolta family members have donated another $16,650 to James’ gubernatorial committee so far in 2026.

To learn more, click here.

Claim #3: Did John James vote to support AI-powered ‘killswitches’ in cars?

No, but he voted against a proposal to stop a related technology.

Five years ago, Congress instructed regulators to eventually require new vehicles to come with systems that can determine if a person is impaired and prevent them from driving.

Advocates say it could save lives. Critics speculate it could allow the government to remotely shut down cars at will. There’s no evidence it will involve artificial intelligence.

When the measure first came up as part of 2021’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed by then-President Joe Biden, James hadn’t been elected to office, meaning he couldn’t have voted for it.

But critics, including Johnson, have pointed to a vote James took in January of this year as proof the congressman does actually support the premise.

US Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky sought to strip funding for the initiative through a spending bill, but his proposed amendment failed in the House after 211 Democrats and 57 Republicans — including James — voted against it. James was the only Republican member of Michigan’s congressional delegation to vote against the move.

He later defended his “no” vote on social media by saying President Donald Trump had asked Republicans to vote “for HIS funding bills as is, WITHOUT any amendments.”

James later co-sponsored “No Kill Switches in Cars” legislation that would repeal the mandate. The measure was introduced in February 2025, with James signing on as a co-sponsor more recently, in late April 2026.

To learn more, click here.

Claim #4: Do John James or Perry Johnson’s companies do business with China?

It’s unclear.

Bridge Michigan has not been able to independently verify claims made during a July 8 televised debate between James, Johnson and Mike Cox, who has since dropped out of the race and endorsed James.

Cox had previously attacked James in an ad and with a website alleging the James Group, the logistics company founded by his father, was aiding China’s economy by handling imports of auto parts from that country.

During that same debate, James attacked Johnson for ownership of a company called Perry Johnson Outsourcing, claiming “he’s not funding his campaign, you are, from the billions that he made shipping your jobs over to China and Mexico.”

To Cox’s claim: Bridge Michigan was unable to independently verify private ImportGenius records cited by the Cox campaign, which asserts they show significant imports from Renaissance Global Logistics between 2022 and 2026.

James stepped down from Renaissance Global Logistics before taking office in 2023. In the recent debate, James said the firm works for companies like Ford Motor Company and General Motors and “focuses on exporting parts, so we keep our jobs here.”

The Detroit Free Press and PolitiFact reviewed prior Democratic claims about James’ ties to China in 2020 and reported that his firm does make shipments to China and also “appears to handle goods from China.”

Johnson, meanwhile, defended his Perry Johnson Outsourcing firm as “a company that exists solely in India for India,” and claimed he’s “never outsourced one person ever.”

Business records in India show the presence of that company, and no similarly named firm in the US, but Bridge could not independently verify the claim that Johnson had never outsourced a job.

To learn more, click here.

Bridge Michigan Capitol reporter Simon Schuster contributed to this report.