Michigan primary: John James victory speech

I want to thank each one of you. I also want to thank my friends. They are the reason I fight so hard for Michigan's future. Thank you for your sacrifices. I love you. And to every volunteer and supporter who poured your time, energy, and prayers into this cause, this victory belongs to you. One team, one fight, one mission to save Michigan. To those who supported me, thank you. And for those who did not, I'm going to work every single day to earn your trust. And to every Michigander who feels politically homeless, who loves this state, works hard, and believes in common sense and wonders whether anyone in government still sees you, I see you. I'm for you. Tonight marks the beginning of Michigan's comeback. But we have to be honest about where we are. Michigan's families are paying some of the highest gasoline prices in the Midwest. Our unemployment rate is among the highest in America. Our children are falling behind. Our infrastructure is crumbling. And too many of our young people are leaving to find opportunities somewhere else. But don't worry. Benson and Democrats will just blame Trump because they think you would fall for it. But we're smarter than that. Here's the truth. Benson's held power in Lansing. For nearly eight years, Jocelyn Benson's been a part of Michigan Democratic leadership. For two full years under President Biden, Democrats had a trifecta in Lansing. All right, you know, in our industry, we say the mic is too hot. And that means that the audio is peaking inside of that hall, so his audio is a bit distorted. But the bottom line is he boasted about the Trump endorsement. He talked about it's time to move forward as a party and try to win this against Jocelyn Benson. Joining us now is Caitlin Buss, the Deputy Assistant Editorial Page Editor of the Detroit News. And Keith Johnson, Democratic commentator. Good to see you both. Thanks for joining us. Let's talk about what we have so far. No big surprises when it comes to our gubernatorial race. The two we ended up with are the ones that we proposed and supposed would be there. Right, Caitlin? Yeah, yeah. And this is a great moment for John James after a tough GOP primary, I would say. So it was good to see him happy. I just posted a column a minute ago saying the race for November has started. Jocelyn Benson versus John James. And it has to be focused on Michigan. I personally don't want to hear much about Washington politics. I don't think most Michigan voters in that race are going to want to hear about that. I do find it interesting because when you hear the Senate candidates talk about their aspirations, it sounds like they're running for president. When you hear the people in the gubernatorial race, it sounds like they're running for Senate. Talking about things that are of national import, when in fact you can't control gas prices here at home necessarily unless you suspend the gas tax. Right, Caitlin? Right. But there's a lot that that governor can do, whoever it's going to be. And I think taxes will be a huge focal point. I mean, the cost of living is something that Michigan has contributed to. Our wages have not gone up because of decisions at the state level. Things like that can really move the needle for people.