{"id":3653,"date":"2026-08-05T04:38:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T04:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653"},"modified":"2026-08-05T04:38:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T04:38:38","slug":"trump-backed-john-james-wins-michigans-gop-primary-for-governor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653","title":{"rendered":"Trump-backed John James wins Michigan\u2019s GOP primary for governor"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Rep. John James has won Michigan\u2019s Republican nomination for governor, NBC News projects.<\/p>\n

Read more Progressive activist wins Democratic primary in one of the nation\u2019s biggest House races<\/a><\/p>\n

James, who represents the Detroit suburbs, prevailed in the primary despite being vastly outspent by his opponent, wealthy businessman Perry Johnson.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

President Donald Trump, despite harboring early concerns that a bid for higher office would put the two-term congressman\u2019s competitive House district at risk, endorsed James and last week traveled to the state to campaign for him.<\/p>\n

James, 45, will face Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the winner of Tuesday\u2019s Democratic primary, this fall in one of the most fiercely contested battleground states. Term limits prevent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, from seeking re-election.<\/p>\n

An Army veteran who lost two Senate races before winning his House seat in 2022, James presented himself throughout the race as a capable public servant with applicable business experience, given his work with his family\u2019s logistics company.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an amazing state with all the great ingredients, but for the past seven-and-a-half years, under Gretchen Whitmer, we\u2019ve been led to higher taxes, more crime on the roads \u2014 and frankly, the roads we have aren\u2019t fixed yet,\u201d James said during a televised debate last month, throwing back to Whitmer\u2019s 2018 campaign vow to \u201cfix the damn roads.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to work together to make sure that our children can read, to make sure that we put criminals in jail, and we hold those accountable who continue to let them back out,\u201d James added. \u201cAnd we\u2019re going to be making sure that we come together to accomplish the mission of increasing hope and purpose with tested, positive leadership that has actually been tested from the battlefield to business to delivering for you right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson, 78, pounded the state with more than $31 million worth of ads, according to AdImpact, an ad-tracking firm. He drew on his work in quality control and improving business efficiencies while campaigning on a plan to eliminate the state\u2019s income tax. Johnson also drew on his personal wealth, self-funding his run while declining political donations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the state of Michigan, people are really tired of the politicians,\u201d Johnson told NBC News in an interview last month. \u201cI am an outsider. Nobody denies this fact. I\u2019m the outsider of outsiders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Todd Blanche\u2019s DOJ comes into focus as his confirmation vote nears<\/a><\/p>\n

James\u2019 campaign spent a fraction on advertising \u2014 $2.8 million, according to AdImpact.<\/p>\n

One potential factor in the results was the absence of former state Attorney General Mike Cox, who dropped out of the primary on July 17 and threw his support to James. Several polls had shown Cox grabbing a substantial share of the Republican vote and raised the possibility of an unpredictable three-way split that could have benefited Johnson. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the general election challenge eased a bit for Democrats in May when former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan ended his independent bid for governor. Duggan, a longtime Democrat, had expressed disappointment with both major political parties but caught attention \u2014 and grief \u2014 from Democrats who noted his reluctance to aggressively criticize Trump.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Michigan voters have not elected a Democrat to succeed a Democrat as governor in more than 65 years.<\/p>\n

Benson deputy campaign manager Alyssa Bradley wrote in an email that the secretary of state \u201cbegins the general election with something no other candidate can claim: a record of delivering.\u201d<\/p>\n

An accompanying campaign memo took a parting shot at both Republican candidates for governor. <\/p>\n

\u201cJohn James and Perry Johnson spent this year lobbing personal attacks at each other and competing for Donald Trump\u2019s attention, not talking to Michigan families about the cost of housing, healthcare, or keeping the lights on,\u201d the memo read. \u201cBoth Republican candidates focused on election denying and Donald Trump, while Jocelyn has stayed focused on the issues affecting Michigan families every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Olympic canoeist charged by Pirro seeks to permanently sink Reflecting Pool case<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rep. John James has won Michigan\u2019s Republican nomination for governor, NBC News projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3652,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2026-election"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump-backed John James wins Michigan\u2019s GOP primary for governor - Trusted Moving Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump-backed John James wins Michigan\u2019s GOP primary for governor - Trusted Moving Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rep. John James has won Michigan\u2019s Republican nomination for governor, NBC News projects.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Trusted Moving Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-05T04:38:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=3653#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=3653\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/98cd83efb686ecde03e082abca618eaa\"},\"headline\":\"Trump-backed John James wins Michigan\u2019s GOP primary for governor\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-05T04:38:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=3653\"},\"wordCount\":674,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=3653#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/da3e84face65a28feba067949b7b2177.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"2026 Election\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=3653#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=3653\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=3653\",\"name\":\"Trump-backed John James wins Michigan\u2019s GOP primary for governor - Trusted Moving Group\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=3653#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=3653#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/da3e84face65a28feba067949b7b2177.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-05T04:38:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/98cd83efb686ecde03e082abca618eaa\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=3653#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=3653\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=3653#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/da3e84face65a28feba067949b7b2177.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/da3e84face65a28feba067949b7b2177.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?p=3653#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trump-backed John James wins Michigan\u2019s GOP primary for governor\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Trusted Moving Group\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/98cd83efb686ecde03e082abca618eaa\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/trustedmovinggroups.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trump-backed John James wins Michigan\u2019s GOP primary for governor - Trusted Moving Group","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trump-backed John James wins Michigan\u2019s GOP primary for governor - Trusted Moving Group","og_description":"Rep. John James has won Michigan\u2019s Republican nomination for governor, NBC News projects.","og_url":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653","og_site_name":"Trusted Moving Group","article_published_time":"2026-08-05T04:38:38+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/#\/schema\/person\/98cd83efb686ecde03e082abca618eaa"},"headline":"Trump-backed John James wins Michigan\u2019s GOP primary for governor","datePublished":"2026-08-05T04:38:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653"},"wordCount":674,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/da3e84face65a28feba067949b7b2177.webp","articleSection":["2026 Election"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653","url":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653","name":"Trump-backed John James wins Michigan\u2019s GOP primary for governor - Trusted Moving Group","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/da3e84face65a28feba067949b7b2177.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-05T04:38:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/#\/schema\/person\/98cd83efb686ecde03e082abca618eaa"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/da3e84face65a28feba067949b7b2177.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/da3e84face65a28feba067949b7b2177.webp","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3653#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trump-backed John James wins Michigan\u2019s GOP primary for governor"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/","name":"Trusted Moving Group","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/#\/schema\/person\/98cd83efb686ecde03e082abca618eaa","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com"],"url":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}