Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on Tuesday heaped praise on Distill Social for “doing extraordinary things to educate the voters of Michigan.”
Benson participated in the “Mad About Voting” Zoom “celebration of democracy and women’s leadership” with actors Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser, along with several left-leaning voting groups like Fems for Dems, MI List, Vote Mama PAC.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson praises "Fems for Dems" and Distill Social, a partisan political group that regularly attacks Donald Trump and Republicans. pic.twitter.com/3vBN2VtMKV
— The Midwesterner (@Th_Midwesterner) October 10, 2024
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“Shout out to Fems for Dems, one of our groups here tonight, as well as Distill Social, who have been doing extraordinary things to educate the voters of Michigan about Project 2025, and you can click the link in the chat to learn more about their work,” Benson told the virtual event.
Fems for Dems works to “promote and protect Democratic values and help get Dems elected up and down the ballot,” according to the group’s website.
The Fems for Dems online activity consists of reposting content from Distill Social and prominent Democrats focused on denigrating former President Donald Trump, his vice presidential running mate JD Vance, and attempting to connect the two to Project 2025, a conservative policy agenda Trump has disavowed.
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Distill Social is seemingly taking a more active role in the election with anti-Trump man on the street reporting, gotcha interviews with Republicans, and commentary on presidential campaign stops in Michigan.
“Lots of empty seats at Motor City Casino, the venue the Detroit Economic Club is hosting a lecture with Donald Trump today,” the group posted to X on Thursday. “Ironic he is speaking on economics in a casino considering he bankrupted 4 of his.”
“We just signed some contracts and got several of these up around metro Detroit through November 5th,” read another post Thursday that featured billboards of a grimacing Trump with the message “STOP Donald Trump’s Project 2025.” “If you want to see more and help us win Michigan feel free to donate to our billboard project!”
Others focus on veterans who oppose Trump, fights at a Trump rallies, and attacks on Trump supporters like Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.
“Ladies, meet your new period tracker,” one post read. “It’s MAGA Mike Bouchard. And if you haven’t read up on JD Vance’s plan to surveil menstrual cycles you need to!”
Benson’s participation in the “Mad About Voting” event and high praise for Fems for Dems and Distill Social stands in stark contrast to an “Oath of Nonpartisanship” Benson pledged when she first ran unsuccessfully for Secretary of State in 2010.
“I firmly believe that our Secretary of State must operate the office in a nonpartisan manner,” her campaign website read. “That’s why upon taking office I will take an Oath of Nonpartisanship, pledging to the citizens of Michigan a neutral and nonpartisan administration. That means you won’t find me co-chairing any campaigns or endorsing any candidates in elections over which I will serve as the final certifier of election results.”
Not only has Benson since endorsed candidates, she’s actively worked to defend the interests of Democrats on the campaign trail, in the courtroom, and through her official role as Secretary of State.
While campaigning for Democrats, Benson has actively promoted election misinformation by falsely alleging former President Donald Trump would sign a nationwide abortion ban if elected, a lie the 45th POTUS has repeatedly debunked.
Benson has also fought against lawsuits to purge the state’s bloated voter rolls of ineligible voters, and to align her election guidance with the state’s constitution, with the latter issue resulting in more than seven separate courts ruling her guidance violated the law.
As Secretary of State, Benson blocked Independent candidate Cornel West from appearing on Michigan’s 2024 presidential ballot to limit competition with Harris.
Benson’s other partisan activities involve $165,000 in donations from her Michigan Legacy PAC to two Democratic candidates for the Michigan Supreme Court, as well as $400,000 in donations to Democratic political and judicial candidates.
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Attorney David A. Kallman told The Midwesterner that the donations to Democrats vying for the Supreme Court comes with an “appearance of impropriety,” noting one of the incumbent candidates backed by the PAC, Justice Kyra Bolden, wrote the majority opinion in a case that upheld Bensen’s election polling guidance for November.
“Secretary Benson routinely makes these decisions and provides directives that are contrary to law or not in law,” Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton, told The Midwesterner. “In fact you know we even know her to violate the Constitution. She talks a lot about misinformation but she really is a champion of misinforming.”
Benson’s comments at the “Mad About Voting” event follow other talks with Women for Harris, collaborations with the far-left sites The Recount, and interviews with Democratic activist attorney Marc Elias at Democracy Docket, a progressive elections news site he founded.
At the same time, Benson, a former hate crimes investigator for the Southern Poverty Law Center who is angling to replace Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2026, has called on the media to help Democrats “protect the minds of voters” to win the “narrative battle” amid what she describes as an “era of misinformation.”