Detroit News Comes to Its Senses, Endorses GOP's John James After Once Supporting His Opponent GOP Senate candidate John James speaks at an election night event on Aug. 7, 2018, in Detroit. (Bill Pugliano / Getty Images)
By C. Douglas Golden
Published October 26, 2020 at 9:29am
In a reversal of the paper’s 2014 endorsement of Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, The Detroit News has endorsed GOP candidate John James in a senate race that’s tighter than many had anticipated.
James, who would become the second black Republican in the upper chamber if elected, was hailed for his military service as well as his experience in the private sector in the Thursday editorial.
“This is the right moment for John James,” the board wrote in its endorsement of James, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
“He is waging his campaign at a time when America is trying to work through its long history of racial animus. As an African American, a conservative, and a Republican, James would add an important perspective to policy-making aimed at vanquishing racial inequity.”
“Peters is one of 73 white males in the Senate. It’s a demographic that’s well represented,” the editorial board wrote.
“Clearly, the Senate would benefit from more Black voices as it addresses this national crisis, as would the Republican Party. The GOP can’t survive as a whites-only institution. Nor can the racial divide close if only one party represents the interests of Black Americans.”
While considered the more conservative of Detroit’s two major newspapers, the paper doesn’t make endorsements based on party. It backed Peters in 2014 against Terri Lynn Land, hailing Peters’ bipartisanship while faulting Land for running a poor campaign.
However, the paper said in its endorsement of James that Peters “has been a predictable vote for the Democratic leadership, offering little to set himself apart,” noting “he has backed the Democratic Senate leadership on nearly every key vote in his first term, including opposing three well-qualified Supreme Court nominees. He cannot be counted on to check his party’s worst ambitions.”
“Michigan would gain increased influence and better representation for its people in the U.S. Senate by electing John James. It would also send to the Senate a natural leader who could well become one of the chamber’s most powerful members,” the paper wrote.
“Leadership is in James’ DNA. He helped lead his family’s successful auto supply business. As an Army Ranger pilot, he led soldiers in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom. And he promises to become a leader of the Senate, while bringing to the body the unique perspective of a Black Republican.”
The editorial board also touted James’ private-sector experience, writing that the candidate “understands the impact COVID-19 has had on the nation’s industrial base, and what it will take to recover.”
“We believe John James has the potential to become an influential senator who, while putting Michigan first, will also speak for a group of Americans who are greatly underrepresented in the Senate.”
The paper endorsed James in his 2018 run against Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow. That race was never anywhere near as close in terms of polling as the 2020 race was; Stabenow held a 16-point lead in the Real Clear Politics polling average as late as Oct. 23, 2018, and still held an 8.3 point lead on Election Day. (She won by 6.5 points.)
This time, the polls are significantly closer. While briefly in the double digits, Peters’ lead hovered between 7 and 10 percentage points until late August, when it dropped precipitously to below 4 points. It’s currently at 5.2 points and rated a toss-up by Real Clear Politics.
At least one pollster, however, shows James in a statistical tie with Peters.
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Poster Comment:
I used to make produce deliveries in Detroit. It was always a midnight delivery.
One night I was sitting on the side street waiting to get into the dock. A black girl came up to the truck wanting to talk with me.
All of a sudden four guys came running off that dock. They beat the crap out of the black girl and a black guy that was sneaking up on blind side of truck. They threw them both out in middle of busy street.
I hollered at them, "Are you going to leave them there?"
They said, "Darn right we are. You KNOW what they were going to do to you."
And when word of that got around no one else went over there screwing around either. ;)