Politico Spotlights GOP Backlash to John James: “There’s a Large Amount of Republicans That Do Not Like Him”

Politico Spotlights GOP Backlash to John James: “There’s a Large Amount of Republicans That Do Not Like Him”

A day before the nasty GOP primary in Michigan between John James and Perry Johnson comes to a head, new reporting from Politico highlights how Republicans from across the state have deep concerns about likely nominee John James, labeling the race an “ugly, hyper-online brawl.”

A former vice chair of the Michigan Republican Party put it plainly: “There’s a large amount of Republicans that do not like him.”

GOP officials and grassroots activists revealed that their frustration with James stems from him “giving away a battleground House seat Democrats are targeting this cycle to run for a new job after losing two previous statewide elections” as well as “not enough visits to specific parts of the state.” Another GOP official noted that James “doesn’t connect with voters in her rural region,” going on to say that voters in northern Michigan “don’t see John James much.”

As James faces scrutiny from Republicans, he’s spent the final weeks of this primary running as far to the right as possible, spreading election conspiracies at a Trump rally last week and promising to pass the “most conservative” abortion ban possible.

Read more below on how James’ own party is rejecting him on the eve of the GOP primary.

Politico: Michigan’s GOP governor primary is getting weird

• Michigan Republicans haven’t had a better shot to win the governorship in over a decade. Deciding who should take it is turning into an ugly, hyper-online brawl.

• As James and Johnson careen toward a contest to decide who faces likely Democratic nominee and current Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the campaigning is getting weird. Johnson has launched increasingly caustic and personal attacks against James, who has led the field since he entered the race.

• But state party officials and grassroots activists have also shared publicly and privately a litany of complaints about James: resentment over too many debates missed early on in the campaign, not enough visits to specific parts of the state, frustration over him giving away a battleground House seat Democrats are targeting this cycle to run for a new job after losing two previous statewide elections.

• The intra-party consternation comes at a pivotal moment for Michigan Republicans, who’ve watched eight years of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s leadership — and yawning statewide victories — with disdain.

• Finding a nominee who can win over independents and compete in the mother of all swing states is paramount, some Republicans say, and they’re not sure James is it.

• “There’s a large amount of Republicans that do not like him,” said Hassan Nehme, a former vice chair of the Michigan GOP and current candidate for state Legislature, referring to some voters’ hesitance about James’ voting record.

• Before appearing in a set of televised debates held in July, James had abstained from participating in several debates held earlier in the primary. James at the time defended skipping the events, saying he was more focused on uniting the party than bickering with candidates. But some voters took his absence as a sign of disengagement from the grassroots.

• Daire Rendon — the Republican Party chair for Michigan’s 1st District, which covers the entire Upper Peninsula and swaths of northern Michigan — suggested that James doesn’t connect with voters in her rural region.

• Rendon, a former state representative who was charged for her alleged involvement in a scheme to unlawfully access voting machines after the 2020 election, noted that “we don’t see John James much.”

• “They are going to gravitate towards candidates who spend time learning about [the Upper Peninsula], and who show up,” said Rendon, who pleaded not guilty and whose case is ongoing.

• Detractors have also criticized James for running for governor in the first place, viewing the contested House seat he’s leaving behind as more valuable amid the GOP’s slim majority and as Republicans stare down an unfavorable midterm cycle. Trump also initially took issue with his gubernatorial ambitions, grousing about it publicly, before endorsing him in June.

• The president brought James on stage at a late July rally outside Detroit, where the candidate asserted, falsely, for the first time that Trump won Michigan in 2020. James had previously said that Joe Biden won the 2020 election, though he said earlier this cycle that he was “screwed” that year when he lost his Senate bid.

• “You have to win,” the president told James onstage Monday. “You have to win.”

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