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Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has secured the Democratic nomination for governor after winning the Michigan Democratic primary. In her victory speech, Benson thanked supporters and shifted her focus to the Nov. 3 general election, promising to lower costs, expand economic opportunities, protect voting and abortion rights, and work across party lines. She also criticized President Donald Trump and Republican leaders over the 2020 election. The race is now set to become one of the most closely watched gubernatorial contests in the United States.

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Transcript
00:00I am so thrilled to stand before you as the Democratic Party's nominee to be the next governor of Michigan.
00:11Thank you. Thank you all for being a part of this moment, for being a part of our team.
00:20Thank you for placing your trust in me to work for you and with you to transform our state.
00:27Tonight, the general election begins.
00:31Tonight marks our opportunity to grow our coalition to include citizens in every corner of our state
00:38who believe, as we do, that the power of the people must always be greater than the people in power.
00:49My life's work is about making that promise, that hope, a reality.
00:57I carry that hope with me every day as the daughter of public school teachers, the wife
01:02of a combat veteran, as the mom of a 10-year-old little boy whose future will be shaped by
01:08what
01:08we do now, together.
01:11Because that is the question facing voters this fall, my friends.
01:15Who do you want Michigan's leaders to work for?
01:19The people or the powerful?
01:23Well, you all know who I work for.
01:29I will work for all of you and every Michigander in this state.
01:34Not the highest bidder, not corporate interests, not Donald Trump, you.
01:42So I'm here tonight asking you to work with me to build a government together whose leaders
01:47work for the people.
01:48A government that saves us time, saves us money, and makes our life easier.
01:53A government led by a trifecta of state leaders who are committed to working together to make
02:04Michigan a place where anyone can afford to live and thrive.
02:09Where child care is affordable for all.
02:12Where homes are easily built so that teachers and nurses and farmers can afford to live in
02:17the communities where they work, where every Michigander has access to quality health care
02:23and water that is safe to drink and air that is clean to breathe and a public education system
02:29that prepares our children for the jobs of the future.
02:37As the next governor of Michigan, I will work with you to drive down costs while expanding
02:42our economy.
02:43And yes, I will work with anyone to get that done.
02:47But I will also be ready to stand up to anyone, no matter how wealthy or powerful, who gets
02:54in our way.
02:55I've done that as Secretary of State, and I'm ready to do it as governor.
03:05I love this state, and I know when I talk to the single mom in Muskegon, who has to decide,
03:12Mayor Mohammed, who has to decide whether to eat or pay rent.
03:18Or when I sit down with seniors in Warren who are anxious about paying for medicine on
03:24a fixed income, I know we must do right by them.
03:28Just the other day, I sat down with a new mom and dad right here in Detroit, and I held
03:33their newborn little girl in my arms.
03:35And I listened as they talked to me about how they don't want their child to grow up in
03:43poverty.
03:44And as a mom, I can't stop thinking about that conversation, about how every decision
03:49we make now will shape the world that their little girl and my little boy and all of our
03:54children will grow up in.
03:56And in the eyes of that little girl's mom and dad, I saw two people who simply wanted
04:02what every parent wants, a chance for their child to grow up healthy, happy, and safe.
04:14To live in a state where she can get a world-class public education, afford to see a doctor when
04:23she needs one, get reproductive care, because it is her right.
04:31Build a career she loves and live in a home that she can afford and not have to work five
04:36jobs in order to do it all.
04:39Right?
04:40It is our job to deliver that for her and for every person in this state.
04:45That's what it means to have leaders, a governor who works for the people.
04:49I will work for the veteran who deserves access to the health care they earned.
04:53The teachers who dedicate their lives to preparing our children for the future and who deserve
04:58pay and more respect.
05:03For the children whose futures depend on the work that we do today.
05:09Our campaign is about them and all of you.
05:11Cost down, wages up, rights protected, end corruption, and build a government that works for all of us.
05:23And again, you all know I'll work with anyone and everyone to get that done, but I'm also
05:27unafraid to stand up to anyone who gets in our way.
05:30And this moment demands leaders who will stand up with courage, unafraid to bullies.
05:36And boy, boy, do I know how to do that.
05:42Like when Donald Trump tried to pressure me into turning over your private voting information,
05:47I said no, and I'll see you in court.
05:54I want you to know that even if it means sheltering in my home, protecting my son, while people
06:07with guns protest on my front lawn, I am not afraid to stand up to anyone who would try
06:12to take away your rights and freedoms.
06:16And that again will be the choice facing Michigan's voters this fall.
06:20Who does your governor work for?
06:23What does she stand for?
06:28And who does she fight for?
06:31The Republicans have already shown us their vision for Michigan.
06:35It's a vision that would raise health care costs instead of lowering them.
06:39A vision that would allow housing costs to climb instead of fighting to bring them down.
06:44And a party whose leaders stood with Donald Trump when he tried to overturn a free and fair election
06:51instead of standing with the people of Michigan.
06:53That is not the future that Michigan wants or needs.
06:59And together, together, we're going to reject it this November.
07:06Because the bottom line to me is this.
07:09Michigan deserves a governor who answers to the people, not corporations, not to the DeVos family,
07:15and not to Donald Trump.
07:19And my friends, I'll just say, Michiganders voted in this primary,
07:22which, by the way, is on track to be one of the highest turnout primary elections in state history.
07:32They voted in this primary because they are asking us to fight for them,
07:37to stand up for them, to fix what is broken for them.
07:42And I am committed, as the next governor of Michigan, to make sure we deliver.
07:48But I cannot do it alone.
07:50I need your help to get this done.
07:52I'm asking you tonight to knock those doors, make those calls, talk to your neighbors,
07:57leave here tonight ready to remind people what is at stake and what is possible when we come together.
08:03Let's take tonight's landslide victory.
08:11And let's deliver another one this fall.
08:18I'm going to ask you tonight, as the eyes of the nation are on Michigan, right?
08:24I'm asking you, I'm asking you to show the nation who we are, what we stand for, and who we
08:31are fighting for.
08:32So I'm going to ask you, like I asked you in 2018, like I asked you in 2022,
08:36are you ready to work for democracy?
08:41Are you ready to fight for democracy?
08:46Are you ready to vote for democracy?
08:51Well, let's get it done and let's go win.
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