Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on C-SPAN | Screenshot

Saying she wants to “truly lead Michigan from a perspective of a common vision of who we want to be,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson hinted last week she is contemplating a run for governor.

Benson, the former dean of the Wayne State University Law School, was the guest at a forum Thursday in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Association of American Law Schools and broadcast on C-SPAN.

She was asked what her plans were once she completed her final term as secretary of state in 2026, when fellow Democrat, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, will also be unable to seek reelection because of term limits.

“I’ve taken a state agency from being the butt of jokes to being a model for how a state agency can run,” Benson said. “And I really want to see if we can make all of state government work that well, and truly lead Michigan from a perspective of a common vision of who we want to be and operationalize the state government that serves everyone effectively and equally.”

Benson took a pass on the U.S. Senate seat left open this year by retiring U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing.

Benson said being secretary of state is a job she loves and aspired to and that it was “kind of jarring” to realize after winning a second term in 2022, she could never run for the position again,

“But there are still many ways to serve and there’s so many ways I intend to serve in Michigan. So we’ll see what 2026 brings. I’ll provide some clarity on that after we get through the 2024 election cycle,” Benson said.

One reason for Benson’s reticence at making her plans known before the November election was what she described as a lack of alignment among those charged with defending elections from interference.

“It’s hard because the biggest story in our work, in my work, of these last few days has been this 14th Amendment issue, which is inherently complex,” said Benson, referring to efforts to prevent former President Donald Trump from appearing on the ballot because of his connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday said it will hear oral arguments Feb. 8 on an appeal of a Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling that the Republican frontrunner is ineligible to hold office under the amendment’s Civil War-era insurrection clause.

Benson, who earlier determined that Michigan law required her to place Trump on the presidential primary ballot, said she hopes to see the issue decided as soon as possible.

“It’s going to be a messy year, whether this issue makes it messy or other issues make it messy,” she said. “The bottom line … I do believe the elections this year will influence, if not determine, the future of our democracy.”

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