{"id":2420874,"date":"2025-04-07T17:40:03","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T21:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/john-james-announces-bid-for-michigan-governor-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-04-07T17:41:45","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T21:41:45","slug":"john-james-announces-bid-for-michigan-governor-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/john-james-announces-bid-for-michigan-governor-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"John James announces bid for Michigan governor &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjohn-james-announces-bid-for-michigan-governor-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2420874&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>John James, a Republican representative from Michigan, has officially announced his candidacy for governor of Michigan in the upcoming 2026 election. His campaign launch, which arrived after months of speculation, emphasizes the need for \u201cstrong, competent leadership\u201d in the state. James draws upon his experiences in the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">automotive industry adn military service<\/a> to bolster his platform.<\/p>\n<p>In his announcement, he expressed his commitment to addressing issues in Michigan&#8217;s government, stating, &#8220;It\u2019s time to get Michigan\u2019s government out of fantasyland and back to common sense.&#8221; The race is expected to be competitive, particularly since current Governor Gretchen Whitmer will be term-limited.<\/p>\n<p>The gubernatorial field is becoming crowded, with other Republican candidates, including Michigan Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt and Tudor Dixon, also in contention. Candidates are anticipated to seek endorsements from Donald Trump, which can be meaningful in Michigan following Trump&#8217;s previous electoral success in the state.<\/p>\n<p>James&#8217;s announcement leaves his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whats-next-key-questions-ahead-of-pelosis-announcement\/\" title=\"What...s Next? Key Questions Ahead of Pelosi...s ...\">congressional seat open<\/a>, adding to the dynamic nature of the upcoming 2026 elections. The House of Representatives is currently controlled by a slight Republican majority, and James\u2019s vacated seat is classified as \u201clean Republican,\u201d indicating a possibly competitive race for it as well.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">John James announces bid for Michigan governor<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2085566\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-james\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">John James<\/a> (R-MI) announced on Monday that he is running for governor of <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/michigan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Michigan<\/a>, launching a campaign in what is expected to be a competitive <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-elections\/\" title=\"\">2026<\/a> race.<\/p>\n<p>James announced in a post to X that Michigan lacks &ldquo;strong, competed leadership&rdquo; and leaned on his experience running an automotive business in the state and in the military.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3372735\/winsome-earle-sears-blasts-abigail-spanberger-virginia-gubernatorial-race-heats-up\/\">Earle-Sears blasts Spanberger as Virginia gubernatorial race heats up<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3372635\/jon-ossoff-raises-11-million-one-quarter-senate-race\/\">Jon Ossoff raises $11 million in one quarter for Senate race<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3371956\/democrats-broaden-targets-virginia\/\">Democrats broaden targets in Virginia as matchup for governor is set<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t leave people behind &mdash; and I won&rsquo;t start now,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s time to get Michigan&rsquo;s government out of fantasyland and back to common sense.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Faith and Family. <br \/>God and Country. <br \/>Service Before Self.<\/p>\n<p>Michigan First. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/drYWqGSi3C\">pic.twitter.com\/drYWqGSi3C<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; John James (@JohnJamesMI) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JohnJamesMI\/status\/1909345196741193898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 7, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The launch follows months of speculation that James would seek a bid for Michigan&rsquo;s open governor seat, as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) will term out. Earlier in 2025, eyes were on the Michigan Republican to see if he&rsquo;d run for the open Senate seat after Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) announced he wouldn&rsquo;t seek reelection.<\/p>\n<p>There is already a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clickondetroit.com\/news\/local\/2025\/03\/15\/heres-a-look-at-the-candidates-so-far-in-the-crowded-race-for-michigans-governor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">crowded field<\/a> for the gubernatorial contest, with Michigan Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt also running to be the next governor. Tudor Dixon has also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3352133\/tudor-dixon-2026-run-senate-governor-michigan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">expressed interest<\/a> in the Senate and gubernatorial races after an unsuccessful run for governor in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>GOP candidates will be vying heavily for President Donald Trump&rsquo;s endorsement, which could carry significant weight in the state after Michigan joined all battleground states in voting for Trump in the 2024 election.<\/p>\n<p>James invoked Trump in his campaign launch, arguing he and the president have &ldquo;been in each other&rsquo;s corner through thick and thin for eight years.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s doing his part to Make America Great Again, and I&rsquo;ll do mine to bring prosperity and sanity back to Michigan,&rdquo; James said.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3346438\/buttigieg-michigan-senate-gary-peters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">BUTTIGIEG WON&rsquo;T RUN FOR MICHIGAN SENATE SEAT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With James forgoing reelection and running for governor, that leaves James&rsquo;s seat vacant in what is shaping up to be a competitive 2026 congressional season. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) currently holds a three-seat majority, and Democrats only need a net gain of three seats to flip the House.<\/p>\n<p>Historically, the lower chamber flips to the party opposite the White House during the midterm elections. But Republicans are determined to stay on offense and not only maintain but expand the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-backs-off-15-minimum-wage-as-virus-relief-plan-takes-shape\/\" title=\"...en ...s Off  Minimum Wage As Virus Relief Plan Takes Shape\">razor-thin majority<\/a>. With James departing, his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cookpolitical.com\/ratings\/house-race-ratings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">vacant seat<\/a> is rated as &ldquo;lean Republican&rdquo; by the nonpartisan <em>Cook Political Report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2085566\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2085566\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John James declares candidacy for Michigan governor in 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2648,"featured_media":2420875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AP24198060633023.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[34059,53009,53010,32603,32076],"class_list":["post-2420874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-election-2024","tag-john-james","tag-michigan-governor","tag-political-news","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AP24198060633023.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2420874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2648"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2420874"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2420874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2420878,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2420874\/revisions\/2420878"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2420875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2420874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2420874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2420874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}