Jocelyn Michelle Benson (born October 22, 1977) is an American attorney, scholar, and public servant currently serving as Michigan’s 43rd Secretary of State — a position she has held since 2019. She is the daughter of two special education teachers and was raised in a working-class family that instilled in her the values of hard work, opportunity, and service. Benson graduated from Wellesley College, earned a master’s degree at Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar, and received her law degree from Harvard University. Early in her career, she worked for the Southern Poverty Law Center investigating hate groups, served as a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and was an attorney and scholar focused on civil rights and election law. She also served as dean of Wayne State University Law School, becoming one of the youngest women to lead a top-100 accredited law school in the country. As Secretary of State, Benson oversaw Michigan’s 2020 and 2022 elections — which both saw historic turnout and strong security — and transformed the Secretary of State’s office into a more efficient, customer-focused agency. Her national leadership on election administration earned her the Profile in Courage Award and the Presidential Citizens Medal. In January 2025 she announced her campaign for governor, aiming to build on her record of public service to lead Michigan into the future.
Key Issue Stances & Priorities
Jocelyn Benson is running for governor to make Michigan a place where families can thrive and succeed. Her priorities include:
- Efficient, People-Centered Government: Benson emphasizes cutting waste, streamlining bureaucracy, and saving time and money for Michiganders — applying the same service-oriented approach she brought to the Secretary of State’s office statewide.
- Lowering Costs & Improving Affordability: She has pledged to focus on reducing cost of living pressures, including housing affordability, childcare costs, and healthcare, to make Michigan more livable for working families.
- Accessible Healthcare & Housing: Benson says Michigan should ensure access to quality, affordable healthcare and housing across the state — from urban centers to rural communities — as core elements of a thriving economy.
- Protecting Rights & Promoting Equity: She is committed to protecting voting rights, defending reproductive healthcare access, and advancing civil liberties, drawing on her deep expertise in election and civil rights law.
- Education & Workforce Strength: Benson argues that a strong education system and workforce development are essential to Michigan’s future growth and competitiveness.
- Transparent & Accountable Leadership: She promotes transparency in government and fights for accountability so that public institutions are responsive to all residents, not special interests.
Accomplishments & Experience
- Election Leadership & Democratic Integrity: As Secretary of State, Benson oversaw historically high turnout and strong election security in Michigan’s 2020 and 2022 general elections, earning national recognition for defending and modernizing the electoral process.
- Government Efficiency & Modernization: She transformed the Michigan Secretary of State’s office into a more efficient, customer-friendly government service hub — reducing wait times, expanding online services, and improving access for everyday residents.
- Scholarship & Legal Expertise: Benson is an expert in civil rights, election law, and governance — authoring State Secretaries of State: Guardians of the Democratic Process — and has served as a legal educator and leader at Wayne State University Law School.
- Support for Military Families: She co-founded and led Military Spouses of Michigan, a network dedicated to support services for military families and children.
- Recognition & Awards: Benson’s leadership has been honored with prestigious awards such as the Profile in Courage Award and the Presidential Citizens Medal.
My kid is at the heart of this campaign. The next decade will shape his childhood and the childhood’s of all our kids when it comes to the neighborhoods they call home, the air they breathe, and the opportunities they can count on. Every choice we make today should be about giving them a safe, strong, and hopeful future.
- Jocelyn Benson