Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson thinks “it’s so important that we show up for each other … and listen,” though only if she gives approval.

Benson recently took to X to announce a statewide “Purpose Driven Community Conversations” tour to prime her anticipated run for governor in 2026, and her post seemingly undermines her whole message.

It’s so important that we show up for each other, meet people where they are, and listen. And one of my takeaways from the 2024 election is how many Michiganders — from Houghton to Hillsdale to Grand Rapids to Detroit — want their voices heard. I’ve seen this first hand in the… pic.twitter.com/JQgIj8hLvo

— Jocelyn Benson (@JocelynBenson) December 6, 2024

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“It’s so important that we show up for each other, meet people where they are, and listen,” Benson wrote. “And one of my takeaways from the 2024 election is how many Michiganders – from Houghton to Hillsdale to Grand Rapids to Detroit – want their voices heard.

“I’ve seen this first hand in the weeks since November 5, in conversations I’ve had in grocery stores and our branch offices, and in meetings with residents throughout the state,” the post continued. “So for the next month, I’m going on the road, hosting meetings with local leaders across our state, to listen, learn, and hear more about what we all can do better. #communityconversations”

The post included a flyer for the tour that makes it clear Benson is only interested in hearing from mostly Democratic voters, with every meeting scheduled in urban areas of the state: Traverse City, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Downriver, Canton, Marquette, Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, and Muskegon.

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The majority of the tour will stop in cities that voted overwhelmingly for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, to meet with local officials, rather than the taxpayers who put them in office.

Folks who might want to offer their perspectives in response to Benson’s post are out of luck. The Secretary of State shut down the comments on her posts in November amid a deluge of criticism about how Benson handled illegal voting in the 2024 election.

“Who can reply?” a note on Benson’s post read. “Accounts @JocelynBenson follows or mentioned can reply.”

Benson, a former Wayne State Law School dean and hate crimes investigator for the disgraced Southern Poverty Law Center, shut down her X comments last month after voters, including some lawmakers, questioned why she did not catch a Chinese student at the University of Michigan who cast an illegal ballot until it was too late to do anything about it. Once his vote had been cast, there was no way to cancel it.

“Last month, @JocelynBenson sat before Congress and denied that non-citizens were voting in our elections. That was wrong then and it’s wrong now,” Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt posted to X. “What’s it going to take to get our top election officer to do her job and make sure only citizens vote?”

Benson’s office would not have been aware of the illegal vote had the student not attempted to retrieve it. Benson acknowledged the voted counted in the 2024 election because there’s no means to remove it.

Benson’s plan for “community conversations” follows just days after Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced he’s ditching the Democratic Party to run for governor as an independent.

His first order of business in the campaign, he said, is to head “to communities across the state that have been forgotten and sit in neighborhood restaurants and farmhouses and city centers and listen to people.”

Unlike Benson, Duggan said he will “not take the approach that some people are unimportant. I’m not going to write anybody off.”

Benson did not take well to Duggan’s announcement, offering a snide defense of her party the same day.

“I’m proud to be a Democrat,” she posted to X. “We’re the party of fairness, freedom, of opportunity for all. We’re the party that does the courageous thing because it’s the right thing.”

Benson came in second among Democratic voters in a poll of potential gubernatorial candidates to replace term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2026.

The Mitchell Research & Communications poll found U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg leading Democrats with support from 38% of likely voters, followed by Benson at 18%, Duggan at 3%, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson at 2%, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist III at 2%, and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, at 1%.

Buttigieg has repeatedly dodged questions about his political future.

On the Republican side, U.S. Rep. John James was virtually tied with 2022 gubernatorial candidate and businesswoman Tudor Dixon, with 28% support and 27% support, respectively.

Former car dealer Kevin Rinke, who lost to Dixon in the 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary, received 3% support, while former Michigan House Speaker Tom Leonard and state Republican Senate Leader Aric Nesbitt both received 0%.