Michigan SOS Jocelyn Benson talks Trump, workplace harassment, miscarriage in new book
In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, Michigan Secretary of State and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson began writing a book to document a historic contest that found her — and the battleground state she served as chief elections officer — at the center of President Donald Trump's quest to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the vote and overturn the result.
But in "The Purposeful Warrior: Standing Up for What's Right When the Stakes Are High" published by The Open Field and out May 6, Benson does more than recount 2020, Trump's tweets and his supporters who stood outside her house to protest the election, which catapulted her into the national spotlight.
In her book, Benson shares lessons throughout her career from her volunteer work as a 19-year-old for the Southern Poverty Law Center investigating neo-Nazi and white supremacist activities in Alabama to her lucrative job as the CEO of a nonprofit aimed at tackling racial discrimination in sports founded by developer and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross that put her in regular contact with professional sports league executives and owners.
In her book, Benson also shares more personal stories, including the isolation she felt when her husband Ryan Friedrichs joined the U.S. Army, which prompted her to find community with other military spouses, and the intensity of running the Boston Marathon when she was eight months pregnant with her son Aidan.
"I was met with a choice, as a future mom, to persevere and run Boston, or give up and forfeit the race," Benson recalls thinking of her decision to stick with her plan to run after finding out she was pregnant. She said she worked through health considerations with her doctor. "Beyond that, the root issues behind the choice of whether to run the race or quit were tied to a larger question: Who did I want to be in moments like this, when unexpected developments infringed on my path?"
But another pregnancy didn't come with the elation of completing the Boston Marathon before giving birth to her son. Benson recounts the pain of a miscarriage before she was about to launch her 2018 campaign for Secretary of State.
"Nothing can prepare you for the loss of a pregnancy. And any parent who has gone through such a loss, at any stage, will agree that you never fully recover," Benson writes.
"If I could share this story so that someone else might not feel alone in their pain, then it would be worth sharing," Benson said of her decision to include the story in an interview with the Free Press.
She said she hopes her book will help readers find their "warrior spirit" to stand up and speak out against injustices they see. "It's a rallying cry for anyone who feels powerless whether it's in the political arena or elsewhere," Benson said of her book, which she said she began writing before she decided she would jump into the 2026 governor's race to replace Gov. Gretchen Whitmer who cannot run again due to term limits.
Among the other tough moments Benson details in her book, she recounts harassment she said she endured while serving as Wayne State University Law School Dean from another WSU official. When she decided to speak up, she recalls the indifference she encountered from other university leaders who have since left the school. Matt Lockwood, Associate Vice President of University Communications, declined to comment.
Benson said she wanted to share the story to talk about how critical it was for her to reach out to seek other women's support and the importance of speaking out against harassment at work.
Benson launched her campaign for governor in January. Her book doesn't take any swipes at her Democratic opponents in the primary race, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II. But she critiques independent gubernatorial candidate Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan for trying convince a male candidate to run for governor in 2018 instead of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, including asking lawyer Mark Bernstein to run, according to The New Yorker.
"I will never forget the message those efforts sent to women across our state. Here we were, shortly after Donald Trump's election as president, and so many powerful and influential men were trying to stand in Gretchen's way," Benson writes in her book.
In response to a request for comment, Duggan campaign spokesperson Valerie Pesonen in a statement noted Duggan's endorsement of Whitmer's campaign. "He campaigned side-by-side with her throughout 2018 and the relationship grew so strong, Gov. Whitmer selected the Mayor to be the one to introduce her for her primary night victory speech. And Mark Bernstein? Gov. Whitmer asked him to lead the Lieutenant Governor selection process. We can only assume Jocelyn Benson 'purposefully' left out the rest of the story," Pesonen said.
Benson on the campaign trail and in her book touts herself as a champion for transparency. But her office's overhaul of the state's campaign finance reporting system has come under scrutiny for various hiccups that have made it harder to access some information. "I mean I'm mad about it," Benson said of the botched rollout. But she said she was not going to leave office before upgrading the state's old campaign finance system. "And so I'm willing to endure the bumpiness of this moment," she said, adding that her office is working on improvements.
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Throughout her book, Benson offers guidance to other aspiring "purposeful warriors" which she broadly defines as individuals who bring a fighting spirit to whatever mission someone chooses. "And then you fight for that mission every day. Even when it's difficult. Because as a purposeful warrior, you don't let the world change you. You are determined to change the world," Benson writes.
Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan SOS Jocelyn Benson book tackles Trump and more
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