Benson discusses campaign for governor on eve of election

And thanks for joining us as we kick off one of the busiest weeks you'll see. Of all things people, power, and politics, this is The Pulse time reportage. Months of campaigns, debates, and political ads all leading to this. The night before Election Day. Polls opening less than 12 hours from now, and there have been a lot of new developments in all of the key races. We talked last week with Republican candidate for governor, John James. Now it's his opponent's time. Democrat Jocelyn Benson is in Studio C talking about the state of the race. And her take on the surprise endorsement of Mike Rogers by Haley Stevens in the race for Senate. Plus, Republican strategist Jamie Rowan, communications expert Andrea Beitley are here to tackle some of the big issues in the hours before the big vote. Their conversation coming up in about 20 minutes. But just a day after that bombshell endorsement, both Rogers and Abdul Al-Sayed made their final push for votes. Al-Sayed holding a rally in Detroit with rapper Common. And Rogers holding an event in Rochester Hills. Both candidates making their last-ditch pitch for those undecided voters. But according to the Secretary of State's office, a huge chunk of our state has already cast their ballots. So let's go by the numbers for a second here. The Secretary of State's office says more than 2.3 million people, or 31% of those on the active voter roll, have cast their ballots. For you sports fans out there, that could fill the big house in Ann Arbor more than... 21 times. It's a lot of interest in this election. And here on The Pulse, we like to dive deeper. More than 1.5 million people have turned their absentee ballots in, and 743,000 people have voted in person at an early voting site. And if you requested an absentee ballot and haven't turned it in, don't risk it with mail, Turn it in at your clerk's office or a Dropbox in your community by 8 o'clock tomorrow night. Now, Rogers spoke exclusively to me and The Pulse yesterday after the endorsement he received from Congresswoman Haley Stevens. You can watch that by scanning the QR code on the bottom right of your screen. We also spoke with Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell and State Senator Mallory McMurrell about the Stevens endorsement and the key issues at stake in this election. And that endorsement came less than 48 hours before Election Day and caught many Democrats off guard by surprise. One of them was Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield, who joined us during the 5 o'clock news to talk about her reaction as well as the election as a whole. Take a listen. How would you frame what happened yesterday with Congresswoman Stevens backing? Mm-hmm. Mike Rogers. I mean, I think everyone can agree it was a complete shock and a complete surprise to many of us here in Detroit, in the state of Michigan. However, I have really enjoyed how Abdul has responded to this. Again, going back to this is not about Haley. This is about the policy and the issues that matter to Michiganders. And it's about money in your pockets, money out of politics, Medicare for all. And I think that is what we have to continue to push and figure out ways, again, that we all can unite around the bigger issue here. And that is protecting our democracy, lowering costs, and building our middle class here in the state of Michigan. We had Mike Rogers on The Pulse last night on a special edition, and he talked about how Detroiters are coming up to him saying, thank you for being here and being present here. We notice your presence. Showing up is important. How do you, what do you make of the churches? I mean, the NAACP had just said, we believe that the churches are being used as props. Do you believe that that's happening? You know, I think in general, everyone needs to get involved. Once we get through the midterm elections, then we have the presidential election. I think the Democrats have to continue to unite on what we all can agree on, which is fundamental foundational things, protecting our democracy, again, lowering costs, building our middle class, ensuring that we have safe, free and fair elections. And so there's always room for improvement. But again, we have to utilize every way that we can to get the vote out and to reach every person to get them involved in this upcoming election and beyond. But I've talked to people, including council people, who say- I mean, no party should assume that we're in the pocket with them. Detroiters are not props. They're discriminant, smart voters who understand the history. Talk for a moment about that. There are Republican voters, 20,000 who voted for Donald Trump. For the 2024 election, there are Republicans and Democrats who live in Detroit. For sure. And we should never take anything for granted. I think, you know, for a very long time, both parties, to be quite honest with you, have oftentimes taken advantage of the African-American vote. And I think at this moment, I think Detroiters in general are understanding how consequential these elections are because they feel it in their everyday lives. And so we should never take for granted anyone's vote and have to make sure that we're speaking and to the issues that are impacting everyday people. I want to talk about election turnout. As we head towards the big day on the polls, a lot of people early voted already, 1.5 million in Michigan. Detroit saw its history-making day last weekend. What do you expect at the polls, and what do you want people to know? I expect that we will continue to see high voter turnout. I'm very proud to see the results that we've seen to date, which shows, again, that people understand how consequential this election is. And what I want people to know is that Your mayor can't do this by herself. We need strong partners in Lansing and in the halls of Washington as well to represent, to bring resources back home and to fight for the issues that matter to everyday people. So get out to vote, spread the word, never take anything for granted. And let's make sure we have people that make sure government works for them. So don't forget to go to fox2detroit.com slash election or scan the QR code on the bottom right of your screen. That page has not only all of our coverage leading up to election day, but also information on everything from the big races to the ballot proposals you're deciding on. Fox 2 is your home for all things politics. We want to make sure you're informed. Before you vote. We're turning to the race for governor after the break. Secretary of State and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson is in Studio C right now with the state of the race less than 12 hours before polls open. You're watching The Pulse on Fox 2. Back now on The Pulse, looking at all things people, power, and politics. Here to dive into her bid for governor, secretary of state, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson. And we want to mention real quickly that we did have a chance to talk to her opponent. That, of course, is John James. Here's a little bit of what he had to say when it comes to gas prices. Take a listen. The war that he said when he first ran, hey, I'm not going to get us into endless wars. Are we in an endless war here? Well, I hate war. I've been. And so ultimately we need to make sure that Iran does not have a nuke and we need to make sure that we have all the resources, making sure using diplomatic and economic resource to bring this war to an end quickly. I've said for a long time now, this war needs to be over like yesterday. So ultimately we need to make sure that America stays safe and we make sure that America stays economically whole. This is part of the reason why I've called for the state gas tax to be suspended and also for the federal gas tax to be suspended. Frankly, Democrats have the opportunity to send a bill to the House, and Winnie Brinks was told not to by Jocelyn Benson, because your pain is their plan. Right now, around the country, they're paying lower gas bills. They want to point the finger at the president, but we all have the same president. Jocelyn Benson said that Indiana and Ohio are eating our lunch. Well, guess what? They have $3 gas in Indiana. We need to bring our gas lower. You can watch all of our interview with John James that happened last week on our website and on the Fox Local app. But I want to give you an opportunity to address the gas situation, the gas tax, and also what John James had said. Yeah, my opponent, who says one thing and does another pretty consistently, he voted six times to extend and keep the war on Iran going, knowing that it was raising prices on the people of Michigan. I called on him and everyone else in Congress to eliminate or call for a federal gas tax holiday. He refused. Thank you very much. I've said I will open to a gas tax holiday here in the state, so he loves to not tell the truth. But at the same time, I'm the only candidate in this race that actually has a plan for lowering costs on the people of Michigan. We're in the final hours now of this campaign, and we're grateful that you were here and John was here as well. But I do want to ask you about what you're seeing on both sides here, which is exactly what you just saw, which is, hey, you're a Democrat, therefore now you're responsible for everything that happened under Democrats. John James is a Republican. Although you're talking about his voting record with the Iran war, which is different than all of President Trump's unilateral moves that he has through executive power. People are saying Republicans are responsible. Is there too much of the blaming of the party and not enough? Talking about policy points with each other? I think we need to look at our records. I mean, my record is actually delivering results for the people of Michigan. As Secretary of State, I've transformed how our branch offices work to lower costs and save people time. I've stood up to the president when he tried to interfere with our elections. He and my opponent refused to accept the results when they lost in 2020. And in sharp contrast, my opponent's record is one of going to Washington, becoming a multimillionaire, buying stocks in companies that he regulates while voting to extend a Iran that is driving up gas prices, supporting tariffs that have raised prices on Michiganders more than anyone else, and voting multiple times to increase the cost of health care. I'm the candidate in this race that has a plan to lower costs, particularly to lower the cost of health care. How do you plan on doing that? And my opponent is the one who has voted to raise those costs. We're talking about health care. Yeah. So early on in this race, we released our affordability plan. And at the center of that was a health care affordability agenda that would lower prices on health care. And we do that by reforming our Department of Health and Human Services. Thank you. And I'll mention, we have a full affordability plan on our website, JocelynBenson.com. I do want to ask you a little bit about, back to the first question there, about how easily it's to conflate two people who are Democrats who work in the state, and how easy it is to conflate a Senate candidate with the president, who, for instance, Mike Rogers, is not currently in an office to vote for anything that President Trump has done. You are not responsible for everything that Governor Gretchen Whitmer has done. Where do you contrast yourself with her? What are the big differences? Are people getting Governor Whitmer 2.0 in you? Well, I'm an administrator. I mean, what people know from my leadership in Michigan have seen over the better part of the last decade is that I know how to get things done and fix broken systems. I've taken and transformed what was oftentimes the butt of many jokes of government inefficiencies, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and transformed that to actually make it efficient and show that government can actually show up for you, make your life easier and get out of the way. And that's a little bit different than what my opponent has done when he's gone to Washington. It's not just that he's from the same party as Donald Trump, it's that he has parroted every lie and supported every failed economic policy and denied election results when Trump did the same. He has done everything Donald Trump asked and he hasn't fought for us. Secretary Benson, what about you and Governor Whitmer in terms of contrasting those records? Where do you stand apart from her? What are the differences between you and not just in terms of your values and in terms of your ability to do the job? But policy-wise, what makes you different than Governor Whitmer, would you say? Well, in addition to the administrative piece, which I was just talking about, I also have a plan to diversify our economy and increase the access to small businesses so that we're seeing small businesses grow. I want Michigan to become the economic engine of the Midwest and the small business capital of the nation. We can be that by a government that is administering those businesses well so that it's easy to start and grow your business. Another issue is education. We've got a comprehensive education plan as the daughter of public... Public school teachers and a former educator myself, I'm looking to what governors in other states have done, like Mississippi and Maryland, to transform not just their reading scores but better pay for teachers and more respect, early childcare, education and support, and a number of other things that I hope can make Michigan's education system among the best in the nation. Data centers. There's been a lot of talk about it. You've defended any relationship that your husband may have had, Ryan, with some companies like OpenAI and others out there. You still stick with the disclosures, saying that there was no money that you or your family got because of the data center and Saline. Yeah, I mean, as I've set the record clear many times now, and we've disclosed our personal finances to show we have not profited from data centers. And in addition to that, I was the first and only candidate in this race to call for a moratorium on data centers until we have guardrails in place. We need guardrails and protections in place and the consent and input of local communities in a transparent, accountable process that, among other things, requires community benefit agreements that can be enforced and can protect the people in communities where you see data centers potentially. What is it that you'd like people to know about? People have doubts about elections, should they? Well, we always welcome people to ask questions about our elections because Michigan's elections have, under the last eight years, gone from being ranked 31st in the nation for security and accessibility to number two nationwide. We have among the cleanest and most accurate voter lists in the country. The data speaks for itself. And so we invite people not just to ask those questions, but to seek their answers from trusted sources, like local election officials. Republican Senator, State Senator Ed McBroom did this a few years ago and concluded, yes, indeed, we have secure elections. Because when you look at the data and facts and put the rhetoric aside, you see just that. And we invite people to serve as election workers so that they also can see firsthand the reality. And again, the sharp contrast in this race is between myself, someone who has defended our election results with the facts and the truth and the law on our side, and my opponent who, despite evidence to the contrary, still has refused to accept results of elections because he didn't want to admit that he lost in 2020, as did President Trump. 20 seconds. Just the Haley Stevens thing, the whole endorsement with Mike Rogers. Does that disrupt the Democratic message in the party severely? No, our message is the same. Cost down, wages up, and corruption. It's the number one thing voters want. It's the number one thing I hear from voters. People are struggling under Trump's and my opponent's failed economic policies. Democrats have a plan to solve that, drive down costs, and raise our wages. I have the same problem with you as I did with John James. I have so many more questions, but we only have so much time. Jocelyn Benson, the Secretary of State, thanks for your time. Thanks for having me. Appreciate you being here today. We're keeping our midterm countdown going after the break. All right, conservative commentator, Jamie Rohn, communications expert, Andrea Bytely on the big issues ahead of tomorrow. You're watching The Pulse on Fox 2. It is People, Power, and Politics. Welcome back to Detroit's only nightly political talk show on the eve of one of the most consequential elections we've seen in a long time in the great state of Michigan. And they're all consequential. You should always go out and vote. But I've never seen the world. I mean, you talk about from Israel, from Tel Aviv, to the Middle East, to India. People are talking about the Senate race here in Michigan. Begin with you, Andrea. I mean, you were the comms guy for Mayor Mike Duggan when he was running an independent campaign that also got international attention. What is it that's going to drive mom and dad on the other side of that camera to the polls, more so than any of the vitriol, any of the ads that you've seen? Hope for the future. Which candidate is going to give their child, their grandchild, the best step forward? That is what... I think parents should be looking at, do they want the Republican version or the Democrat version? And that's what they have the next 24 hours to decide. Well, and I wonder how many of those people are still deciding. Jamie, instead of this being like an old school let it rip, we're actually trying to really unpack on this eve of this important night what it is that people are trying to figure out still. What is it? Who is it that's still trying to figure this out? I think what the people, particularly in the Senate race, the clear choice that they're going to have is do you want... Somebody who's a workhorse with a proven record, and that's Mike Rogers, of delivering and fighting and working with whoever he's got to work with to make Michigan better. Or do you want a celebrity in the U.S. Senate more concerned about You know, the West Bank, the West side of Detroit. That is the question that people are going to have to answer. And I'm pretty confident they're going to answer, Mike Rogers. Man, Jamie, Andre, this sounds like 2016 when I heard people say, do you want the celebrity guy who's a Washington outsider or do you want the workhorse, Hillary Clinton? Who knew everything about the inside of Washington from her husband and her own work as a senator. We saw how that went. And how did that go, right? So celebrities, this whole like, oh, this is the outsider. President Donald Trump himself understands the dynamics of being an outsider. Does that help Al-Sayed in this race, Andrea, or no? I think it does. I think there's actually quite a bit in common between Donald Trump's bombastic style and Abdul Al-Sayed's bombastic style. Sure, their politics might not line up, but the showman style that both of them bring to the show. Is significant, like they are showmen, both of them. They really, and Jamie, I mean, you've watched these debates, you've seen that, and you've been a part of the Rodgers team. It's interesting to see Rodgers turn more into a showman in the last few weeks, in the last few months than the first debate that he did, wouldn't you say? Mike has been. Working harder than any candidate I've ever seen in my life in building a coalition that I as a Republican have wanted to be built for some time. His engagement in Detroit, for instance, is something I've been an advocate for. And when I ran Candace Miller's reelection campaign in 1998, we did that then. And she got more votes out of the city of Detroit than a Republican has gotten in the last half century. And I think Mike is going to do something similar tomorrow. He has really worked it hard and it's about time that we Republicans have gone in and made our case to the people in Detroit. I know that Mike Duggan was a Democrat when he ran obviously for mayor and was knocking on doors and had his coffees and lunches and all those living rooms, right? But there seems to be somewhat of a parallel in terms of a white guy from outside who was Who was born in Detroit, but lived in elsewhere, coming back to Detroit, To say you should vote for me, do you see similarities between the two mics? Haley Stevens mentioned Mayor Duggan and her comments yesterday and I to be honest and up until that moment, I didn't really see it. Do you see it now? Not really, I see them as very different. People, very different motivations for what they were doing. Rogers is in Detroit looking for votes. Duggan was in Detroit, sure, looking for votes, but also looking for things that needed to be fixed as soon as he stepped into the mayor's office. So they're a little bit different. I mean, sure, all candidates, all politicians are knocking doors to get those votes. But I think that the question is, what's the next step? Yeah, Mike has talked. Very clearly about ways to help with the housing situation in Detroit, way to help with the education system in Detroit. We can't have a system where... Seventy, eighty percent of the kids in the fourth grade aren't proficient at reading. And Mike is the son of a teacher. That means something to him. He knows that those kids don't have a chance if they aren't given access to the thing, aren't able to read and able to access things like skilled trades and other things. He has gone there looking for solutions. He would like the votes. But he also wants to deliver the solution. Big difference in terms of tone and mood between the last time we saw a Senate race in Michigan with Slotkin and Rogers and now. This seat is being treated as though it's an executive position, as though it is the president that you're voting for. That's the import that's being given to one out of 99 votes, which are critical. And that's a critical vote. But do you think voters are feeling emotionally a difference between a presidential election and the Senate race? Or does it seem the same to you? Right now in Michigan, it feels very much the same. Right now it feels like Abdul El-Sayed is going to be the next president. If you ask anybody around Michigan or if you ask any of the New York Times reporters or Washington Post reporters that have parachuted in in recent days, they're treating this like this is a presidential election. But there are 99 other people in the room, Jamie. But this is also a showing what 2028, is 2028 going to be the year of the Democratic Socialist or is 2028 going to be a reset back to the more middle of the road? And Michigan being a purple state, it matters to have the discussion here, isn't it, Jamie? Yeah, yeah, and I'm glad I'm glad that these national pundits show up here and fly over territory and discover that we exist. But the fact of the matter is, we want our senator to be our senator, not their senator, our senator. Who is the one who's focused on Michigan? Who is the one that wants to deliver results? Who is the one who wants to make sure our kids can read? That is what's at stake here. Mike Rogers has always been a workhorse for Michigan, and he'll be so as I said You just heard Jocelyn Benson. We heard a little bit from John James. The entire interview is online right now. When you watch the governor's race right now. Are people passionate? Do people care as much as they do the Senate race? Maybe it's an obvious question. With all due respect to Secretary Benson, who just walked off the stage here, no. People are not paying attention to the governor's race. The only thing that people know is happening is Abdul El-Sayed versus Mike Rogers. So I think some folks hopefully will educate themselves the next 24 hours before they walk into the ballot booth. If you're looking at trustees and you're looking at other things like that and trying to Google search that, you probably should Google both of these candidates. John James, Jocelyn Benson, look at their records, try to figure this out because that's homework that is critical. Isn't it critical? It's a very important race. I would hope. We were talking about this before we came on. That hasn't caught the attention. The Senate race is clearly the race that's driving. Turnout and driving participation in this election. I cast my vote for John James and I hope others will vote for him. That's not breaking news, my friend. We know you and we know that you are an ardent Republican and we know that you've been an independent minded person and we're gonna see what happens here. Andrea Bytley, Jamie Rowe, thanks for your time here tonight. As we always say, Fox 2 is your home for politics, so make sure you stay with us tomorrow for live results and reaction until the last vote is counted and most importantly, make sure you vote. I'm Rup Raj. As always, it was good to be with you.