John F Martin
When Jocelyn Benson won the 2018 Michigan secretary of state election, becoming the first Democrat to hold the position since the ’90s, not many people were paying attention to secretaries of state, which, among other duties, administer elections. But in the years since, as Republicans have weaponized baseless allegations of voter fraud to attack the electoral system and elect hyperpartisan conspiracy theorists as election administrators, secretary of state contests are more important than ever before. Benson herself, who was menaced by armed “stop the steal” protesters last year, has written about the need to stop the spread of misinformation and elect secretaries of state who are responsible stewards of democracy.
This threat is acute in Michigan’s upcoming secretary of state election. Her opponent is Donald Trump-endorsed Kristina Karamo, a conspiracy theorist who rose to prominence when she claimed to be a “whistleblower” who saw irregularities at the polls. The good news is that Benson has had a torrid spring and summer of fundraising, and has a secure money lead.
Below, we explore three key questions that small and medium donors should answer before supporting candidates. (See how we evaluate candidates.)
Is this election important?
Yes. Michigan will be a key swing state in 2024, and it’s essential that the voting process goes smoothly there. If Karamo won this post, how would she react if Trump called and asked her to “find” an extra few thousand votes to give him the presidency, as he did to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger?
Can Benson win?
Secretary of state races are not watched as closely as more prominent races, and handicappers like the Cook Political Report don’t release ratings on them as frequently as they do congressional contests. But Michigan is a narrowly divided state and it’s likely that this will be a close race. Benson should have some advantages as an incumbent with a fundraising edge, but the national political environment is much more hostile to Democrats now than it was in 2018.
Does she need money?
Not at all. Earlier in the election cycle Blue Tent wrote about how important it was to support Benson, but by the beginning of this August she had surged to a massive fundraising lead, raising more than $2 million and having more than $3 million in cash on hand. Karamo had under $300,000 in her war chest. It would still be a disaster if Karamo won, and Michigan Democrats should obviously work as hard as they can to reelect Benson, but she doesn't need much more money at this point. That's why Blue Tent is downgrading her to a low priority for donors.