• John James and Jocelyn Benson pitched their plans for Michigan to members of the Detroit Economic Club
• They differed on addressing tariffs against Canada but largely agreed on data center regulations 
• Major business groups have yet to endorse a candidate in the governor’s race

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DETROIT — Gubernatorial candidates Jocelyn Benson and John James made their case to business leaders in a Detroit Economic Club forum on Wednesday, highlighting stark contrasts in their plans to boost Michigan’s economic and educational performance. 

Amid President Donald Trump’s lengthy trade dispute with Canada, Benson promised “to be unafraid to stand up to the president,” while James placed some blame with Michigan’s international neighbor and said the state is enduring “trade barriers that hurt our ability to grow.”

The pitches came as some key Michigan business groups have yet to take a side in the gubernatorial race to succeed term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, including the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Detroit Regional Chamber, which had backed independent Mike Duggan before he dropped out of the race. 

Clerks are preparing to send out absentee ballots at the end of next week. 

Ben Maibach III, who spent more than 30 years as president and CEO of multistate construction firm Barton Malow, said he’s “struggling” to decide which candidate to support.

“I wish I felt better,” said Maibach, who sits on the board of the Detroit Economic Club with Benson, who is also a board member. 

He blamed both parties for the state’s sliding status in education and the economy. U.S. News & World Report ranks Michigan 45th among states in education and 43rd for the economy.

Michigan’s leaders, Maibach said, have “been more political than strategic, and we haven’t moved ahead.”

That’s something that was also on the mind of Sandy Pierce, the president of the club’s board. He said Michigan’s decline in rankings “actually makes me sick.”

But Pierce, an independent, “can see hope in what each of them said” in Wednesday’s forum, saying felt both candidates performed better than expected.

The forum was not a debate. Both candidates were asked the same set of questions by the moderator, WDIV-Channel 4 anchor Jason Colthorp, in sequence. James had to appear remotely by video after a shifting congressional schedule kept him in Washington, DC for key votes.

Here’s what the candidates had to say: 

Tariff response

Trump’s escalating tariffs against Canada — which have sparked retaliatory tariffs by Michigan’s biggest international trade partner — were a point of emphasis in the interviews, given their widespread impact on the state’s automotive sector.

Benson said she would try to circumvent Trump and “negotiate subnational agreements with Canada” alongside other neighboring-state governors. It’s not clear how those agreements could circumvent or lessen import-exports penalties in place at the federal level.

James argued that Canada “walked away from the table.” But said he’s taken a more direct approach with the president by telling the Trump administration that “Michigan will not be collateral damage in these negotiations.”

James said he plans to introduce legislation “using tariff revenue to reduce tariff-driven production costs, prevent layoffs and offshoring, and limit the amount of those costs that might be passed on to the consumer.”

His office did not immediately offer further details when contacted by Bridge Michigan.

Whitmer has spoken out against the tariffs. On Wednesday, the term-limited Democrat authored an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal denouncing the trade war and citing a report that tariffs have cost Michigan households $5,600.

Data center dispute

The candidates also discussed data centers, which have emerged as a focal point in this year’s election and source of conflict in the gubernatorial race. 

Benson released a campaign ad on Sunday highlighting her recent call for a data center moratorium. A super PAC supporting James quickly released an ad highlighting Benson’s husband’s past involvement with building a hyperscale data center in Saline Township, which has dogged her campaign.

In addition to calling for a moratorium, Benson used her ad to call for elimination of bipartisan state-level tax breaks and said she wants to stop data centers from raising electric bills. 

In Wednesday’s forum, James called himself a conservative how is “against bans and mandates,” although he reportedly said last month he wants a moratorium too until more local control, environmental and electric bill guardrails are put in place. 

Benson has similarly said she’d like to pause new data center developments “until we can protect our water, keep utility bills down and require they create well-paying union jobs.”

In the forum, Benson and James both advocated for letting local governments determine whether data centers should be sited in their borders.

When asked whether she would support state regulations on artificial intelligence, Benson said “we need to expand” laws to protect Michiganders “from the use or abuse of AI.” She noted that she supported a new state law that requires disclosures for the use of AI in election ads.

James offered specific policies he’d like to implement, arguing Michigan should move to prohibit “invasive surveillance, algorithmic wage theft and production quotas that put workers’ safety at risk and also their jobs in jeopardy.” 

AI can be a beneficial tool, but policy must ensure that “anybody who is abusing the tool and hurting workers are held accountable,” James added.

Economic development

Following a primary in which many candidates called for abolishing the Michigan Economic Development Corp, the state’s central economic development agency, Benson and James were more measured in their calls at the forum.

“We cannot unilaterally disarm, and so we need to reform the MEDC to make it work best for you,” James said, emphasizing that “we need to have a fundamental change of culture, fundamental change of philosophy, fundamental change in environment” to attract businesses to the state. 

Benson said she wants “every agency to be overhauled in a way that promotes transparency, accountability and eliminates wasteful spending.” The MEDC, she said, is “at the top of my list.”

A Bridge investigation found subsidized companies that promised to bring major jobs to Michigan under Whitmer have underdelivered and created jobs at a high cost to taxpayers. 

Benson called for an “enforceable return on the investment mechanisms in place to ensure any money that goes out delivers jobs back.”

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