- Governor hopeful Perry Johnson working to win over MAGA Republicans even after President Donald Trump endorsed his rival
- Johnson’s policy platform is an ode to Trump, with a $4,747 tax cut plan he claims he’ll pay for with a ‘MEGA audit‘
- The wealth businessman has spent more than $30 million on his campaign, a record amount for a gubernatorial primary
MILFORD — Less than three miles from President Donald Trump’s rally at the GM Proving Ground on Monday, the food and booze was flowing freely.
Michigan Republican gubernatorial hopeful Perry Johnson, a wealthy businessman who has poured more than $30 million of his own money into his second campaign for the state’s top job, was treating a few hundred supporters to a “Trump tailgate” on a sprawling suburban yard.
It was a MAGA party, minus support from a key figure: Trump, who has endorsed Johnson’s rival, John James, and whose political operation bashed Johnson for hosting the event, calling him a “NEVER TRUMPER” because he briefly ran for president against Trump in 2024.
Johnson has placed Trump at the center of his campaign. His flagship income tax elimination plan is a numerological ode to the 47th president, overstating a potential savings of $4,747 for an average family. He’d try to pay for it through what he calls a “MEGA audit” of state government, another Trump allusion.
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But losing Trump’s endorsement has left Johnson to walk a tightrope in the GOP primary: He’s still attempting to appeal to Trump voters, even though Trump is telling them to vote for someone else.
Trump’s backing is “not going to carry (James) over,” Johnson told reporters at an earlier event, arguing the president got bad advice. “I’m winning.”
Those dynamics played out at the Monday tailgate, where Johnson streamed Trump’s speech but blasted his country-rock campaign anthem and called reporters over for interviews when James joined the president on stage.
The tailgate, with an open bar and two food trucks, wasn’t attended solely by Johnson’s supporters. Jeff Savitsky told Bridge Michigan he is still undecided in the gubernatorial primary and chose to attend the tailgate over the rally because it was “easier to get to.”
He supports the president, he said, and Trump’s endorsement means something to him, but it hasn’t yet swayed his vote.
“I’m not really sure his reasoning why,” Savitsky said of Trump’s decision to back James, explaining that his primary vote will likely come down to the electability of each candidate. “I want to know who’s going to be the best candidate to let us win the governor back.”
Record spending
Johnson’s electability pitch to voters is centered on his own wealth.
He’s already spent a record sum for a gubernatorial primary campaign, according to a review of state records, and Johnson announced this week he’s already reserved $4.7 million in general election airtime for TV ads “so we can immediately take the fight to Jocelyn Benson and keep Republicans on the offense from Day One.”
Johnson and his supporters contend his personal fortune makes him uniquely qualified to run what will likely be an expensive race against Benson or Genesee County sheriff Chris Swanson, who are competing for the Democratic nomination.
A campaign spokesperson wasn’t willing to tell Bridge how much Johnson would be willing to spend in the general election, only that he would do “whatever it takes” to win.
A self-funded candidate at the top of the ticket could mean more sorely needed cash for other candidates further down the ballot, said R. Vance Patrick, the chair of the Oakland County Republican Party, who endorsed Johnson and has criticized James for requesting public campaign funding.
“I’m not about just winning the top of the ticket,” Patrick told Bridge. “Perry Johnson leaves $40 million on the table for all the other state reps,” giving them an opportunity to fundraise from donors who otherwise might’ve given to a gubernatorial campaign.
Johnson’s plans
Despite his huge spending, Johnson’s campaign platform is strikingly minimal: Eliminate the income tax and reduce state property taxes.
Both are major sources of revenue for the state government, but Johnson has insisted his proposed audit will find the billions of dollars in savings needed to enact his policies.
“I always am talking about one basic theme. That theme is leaning our government. We have to try to get efficiency and quality out of our government. That is my skill set,” Johnson said, touting his record as a self-proclaimed “quality guru” that some have questioned.
Johnson’s promise to eliminate the state’s 4.25 percent income tax is more aggressive than a proposal from James, who wants to incrementally reduce the tax with the goal of full elimination.
As public resistance toward data centers has grown, Johnson has also joined calls to rein in potential developments, proposing a one-year moratorium on the construction of any additional hyperscale facilities.
While he lost the Trump endorsement, Johnson has surrounded himself with who’s who of grassroots MAGA figureheads in Michigan, including former gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley, who went to prison over pro-Trump riots at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and former attorney general nominee Matthew DePerno, whose Antrim County lawsuit fueled Trump’s claims the 2020 election was rigged against him.
“He’s the only candidate who’s been able to unite the grassroots I’ve seen in my 15 years in Republican politics,” said Meshawn Maddock, a Trump loyalist and former Michigan GOP co-chair who is working for Johnson as his campaign political director.
Attack ads
Johnson has flooded the TV airwaves and social media networks with ads, but it’s not clear how much they have or will move the needle with voters.
A recent Emerson College poll of 350 likely GOP primary voters found James leading Johnson 40% to 32%, an eight percentage point margin that was still within the survey’s margin of error. Another 9% were still supporting former Attorney General Mike Cox, who left the race to support James, and 17% remained undecided.
“If you have a close 50-50 race, advertising can swing the race, maybe a half-percent or 1% one way or the other,” said Corwin Smidt, a professor of political science at Michigan State University, who told Bridge the impact of advertising on voter choice is often overstated.
The Republican gubernatorial primary may not be one “where you can just spend your way into victory,” he said.
Johnson’s spending has allowed James to access public campaign funding without a spending cap. James has received about $250,000 so far, which Johnson has called a misuse of taxpayer dollars.
It’s among a barrage of attacks Johnson has launched in recent weeks, including critiques of donations to James by data center developers. Johnson dismissed a recent call for GOP unity by US Senate candidate Mike Rogers.
Tori Sachs, an advisor for James’ campaign, replied in a statement that “Johnson’s frantic last-minute attacks expose a desperate, career candidate who has no grasp on reality and no friends that he didn’t buy.”
At least $26.6 million of Johnson’s campaign spending has been through businesses owned by or connected to John Yob, a longtime Republican political consultant who is also serving as his campaign manager.
To hear Johnson tell it, he’s happy with the campaign he’s paid for.
“We have the momentum, and anywhere we go, the number of people just seems to increase to the point where it’s almost getting to the point of nuttiness,” Johnson said. “When you see that, and you see it wherever you go, you know you’re going to win.”
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