Democratic candidate for Governor, Michigan
On your ballot Governor, Michigan (certified list (opens in a new tab), verified October 9, 2026)
Photo: Joshua Qualls (Massachusetts Governor's Press Office), public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab), cropped.
Checked · How the record reads leaders · Report a change · Corrections
Of 15 statements on the record, 4 raised concerns about data centers and 11 carry no label.
Labels are applied by the record's published rules: two readings of each statement, and a third that reads its source where the two differ. Every label sits beside its statement and its source, and any label can be challenged through Report a change, with the correction logged on the corrections page.
Position History: Chronological record of positions across sourced statements.
- · Raises concern · Detroit Free Press
- · Raises concern · Michigan Advance
- · Raises concern · Michigan Public
- · Raises concern · Political Currents by Ross Barkan
- · Supports · Hoodline
What they said
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"supports a moratorium on new data-center development until safeguards are in place to protect water resources, limit electricity-cost increases for residents and give local communities a voice"
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Direct verbatim quote from source. Counterpoints: Benson outlined her moratorium position during a statewide gubernatorial debate.
Where & When: WDIV gubernatorial debate · October 22, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- Hoodline (opens in a new tab), national outlet
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Democratic candidate Jocelyn Benson advanced a statewide moratorium on data centers while lawmakers figure out better policy protections
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: October 7, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- WEMU-FM (opens in a new tab), local outlet
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Jocelyn Benson stated she will protect citizens and local communities from data centers and put guardrails in place to protect water from use and abuse and ensure data centers cover the cost of the energy they use
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: October 7, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- CBS News (opens in a new tab), national outlet
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Benson said James had voted four times to block the ability of local communities to have a voice or a say in whether data centers can come to those communities
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: October 6, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- Yahoo (opens in a new tab), national outlet
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Jocelyn Benson called for a moratorium on any new data center developments until real guardrails are in place to protect local control, protect water, require data centers to shoulder the burden of energy usage, and invest in community benefits agreements
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: October 6, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- Yahoo (opens in a new tab), national outlet
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Jocelyn Benson's husband, Ryan Friedrichs, earned $370,000 in 2025 as an employee of Related Companies, which is developing the Saline Township data center.
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: September 23, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- The Oakland Press (opens in a new tab), local outlet
Label rationale: No label: the words are not clearly the speaker's own. Both readings of the statement held it.
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Jocelyn Benson, Democratic Secretary of State, emphasized importance of local control, as well as establishing guardrails to address concerns about privacy and environmental harms of data centers and artificial intelligence
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: September 16, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- Michigan Advance (opens in a new tab), local outlet
Label rationale: Both readings of the statement agreed. The words that set it: "establishing guardrails to address concerns about privacy and environmental harms of data centers and artificial intelligence".
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Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Secretary of State and Democratic candidate for governor, stated at the Detroit Economic Club on September 16, 2026 that data centers cannot be sited at the expense of privacy, rights, and environment, and pledged to create an online portal for residents to track data center projects.
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: September 16, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- Michigan Public (opens in a new tab), local outlet
Label rationale: Both readings of the statement agreed. The words that set it: "data centers cannot be sited at the expense of privacy, rights, and environment".
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Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic nominee for governor and the most likely politician to replace her next year, now supports a moratorium on the construction of new data centers in Michigan
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: September 16, 2026.
Primary Sources:
Label rationale: Both readings of the statement agreed. The words that set it: "supports a moratorium on the construction of new data centers in Michigan".
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Benson pledged to halt all data center construction until rules require companies to negotiate with local communities, prevent use of tax breaks and water supplies, require union labor, and stop raising electricity bills.
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: September 14, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- The Michigan Independent (opens in a new tab), local outlet
-
Jocelyn Benson posted video on September 8 calling for statewide data center moratorium.
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: September 14, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- The Michigan Independent (opens in a new tab), local outlet
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Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson called for moratorium on data centers, saying no data centers will be built in Michigan unless rules require negotiation with communities, ban them from tax breaks and water use, and require payment for power
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: September 8, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- Detroit Free Press (opens in a new tab), local outlet
- The Detroit News (opens in a new tab), local outlet
Label rationale: Both readings of the statement agreed. The words that set it: "called for a moratorium on new data center projects and ending tax breaks for developments".
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Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Secretary of State and Democratic gubernatorial nominee, discussed her thoughts on data center development
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: September 7, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- CBS News (opens in a new tab), national outlet
Label rationale: No label: the words support none. Both readings of the statement held it.
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Democratic candidate for governor Jocelyn Benson has called for a moratorium and claims to be the only candidate who will hold data centers accountable.
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source. Label set by a tiebreak.
Where & When: August 31, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- The Detroit News (opens in a new tab), local outlet
Label rationale: No label: the words are not clearly the speaker's own. The two first readings differed, and a third reading of the statement and its source held it.
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Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson demanded transparency and public input for data center projects
Context & source notes
Format & Provenance: Paraphrased from source.
Where & When: February 2, 2026.
Primary Sources:
- planetdetroit.org (opens in a new tab), local outlet
Where we looked
The record last searched for Jocelyn Benson's words on October 20, 2026.
How they voted
No vote on a data center measure on the record.
Others in this race
- John James Republican · Governor · the race page
- Donna Brandenburg U.S. Taxpayers Party · Governor · the race page
- Douglas Campbell Green Party · Governor · the race page
- Anthony Hudson Libertarian Party · Governor · the race page
Something missing?
Know a sourced statement by Jocelyn Benson on data centers that is not here? Send the link. It goes to the record's inbox as a card routed to this person and publishes only after it is read against its source.
Are you Jocelyn Benson or on the campaign? Ask for a correction or send a statement, or email corrections@datacenterrecord.org.
Related
Projects named in these statements
Data Center Record, "Public statements by Jocelyn Benson", https://datacenterrecord.org/speakers/jocelyn-benson, last verified October 24, 2026.
Reusing this page
The structured rows are CC BY-NC 4.0. Link to this page; that is what turns a reuse into a citation. Prose stays under copyright.
Last verified: October 12, 2026.