- Democrat Jocelyn Benson picks state Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks as her running mate and potential lieutenant governor
- Brinks led the Senate since 2023 and oversaw a flurry of new laws during Democratic control of state government.
- Republican candidate John James selected state Rep. Jay DeBoyer as his running mate last week
GRAND RAPIDS — Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson has selected Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks of Grand Rapids as her running mate and potential lieutenant governor, she announced Wednesday.
To enact her agenda, “I need a governing partner who has a track record for getting things done,” Benson said in a speech to supporters in Grand Rapids, predicting “together with all of you, she and I will make Michigan history.”
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Brinks adds a west Michigan connection to the campaign for Benson, who lives in Detroit, and brings significant legislative experience to the ticket.
In her acceptance speech, Brinks promised to be “right by (Benson’s) side, every step of the way, fighting for a Michigan we can all afford.”
Brinks became the state’s first female Senate majority jeader in 2023, when she and fellow Democrats used their first government trifecta in four decades to pass a sweeping set of new laws.
That included new “red flag” gun restrictions, anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ residents, a clean energy mandate and repeal of the state’s Right-to-Work law and so-called senior tax on retirement income.
The pick means Democrats will have two women at the top of the ticket In november opposite Republicans, who did not nominate a female candidate for any of the top statewide offices for the first time in nearly 50 years.
Brinks said the historic nature of the ticket — the first with women running together for governor and lieutenant governor — matters.
“I think that we’ve got the best ticket, regardless of whether we’re men or women on the Democratic side,” Brinks said. “I like to see representation in the highest offices of our land and in our state.”
GOP gubernatorial nominee John James last week chose state Rep. Jay DeBoyer as his running mate, also adding legislative experience.
Benson’s decision to choose Brinks is “political” but also strategic, said Chris DeWitt, a longtime political consultant who has worked for both Democrats and moderate Republicans.
“You want somebody who’s going to help move (a governor’s) agenda, and I think Sen. Brinks fits all those categories,” he said.
Running mates can also help gubernatorial campaigns if they have geographic roots in an area where the candidate might otherwise be weak, DeWitt added.
Speaking to reporters after the event, Brinks noted Kent County is “a changing area of the state, and it’s a very exciting spot to be electorally.
“I’m very optimistic that we’ll see that kind of enthusiasm come through for Democrats on the ticket up and down.”
Brinks has served in the legislature since 2012, when she won her Democratic primary as a write-in after the incumbent, Rep. Roy Schmidt, switched parties to run as a Republican.
A graduate of Calvin College, Brinks was a political unknown at the time and launched her campaign while juggling her career with a west Michigan nonprofit that works to improve employer and employee relationships.
After serving three two-year terms in the state House, Brinks was elected to state Senate in 2018. In her second term, fellow Democrats chose Brinks for the chamber’s top leadership post.
Candidates for lieutenant governor have to be formally nominated by delegates at party conventions, but for major party candidates, the vote is often a formality.
The Michigan Democratic Party is slated to meet Aug. 29 in Lansing, while Republicans will convene in Mount Pleasant on Saturday, Aug. 22.
Candidates also go through vetting in the hope they don’t bring any significant political liabilities to the campaign.
“There is one big thing you don’t want to have is a lieutenant governor candidate who’s got something in their background that’ll come back to haunt you,” DeWitt said.
This article first appeared on Bridge Michigan and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
