John E. James

John Edward James (born June 8, 1981) is an American politician, businessman, and veteran. He was the Republican candidate for the 2018 United States Senate election in Michigan but lost to the incumbent Democrat, Debbie Stabenow. James is a candidate for the Senate again in 2020.

John James
Personal details
Born (1981-06-08) June 8, 1981
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Elizabeth James
Children3
EducationUnited States Military Academy (BS)
University of Michigan (MBA)
Pennsylvania State University (MS)
WebsiteCampaign website

From 2004 to 2012, James served in the United States Army. After he was discharged, James joined his family's supply chain business.

Education and military service

At age 17, James enrolled in the United States Military Academy, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 2004 and became an Army Ranger-qualified aviator.[1] He served for eight years in the United States Army, participating in multiple tours of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he was an Apache pilot.[2][3]

James received a Master of Supply Chain Management and Information Systems degree from Pennsylvania State University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan.[1]

Business career

In 2012, James joined James Group International, where his father, John A. James, was the CEO.[4] James Group is a global supply chain management service company; James became its director of operations, and eventually became president of JGI and CEO of Renaissance Global Logistics.[5]

James was named one of the Detroit Business Journal's 30 in their 30s of 2012, and Michigan Chronicle 40 under 40 of 2014.[6] He served as a board member of the Michigan Council for Future Mobility, Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council and National Veteran Business Development Council. Currently, he serves on the Detroit Workforce Development Board.[7]

Political career

2018 U.S. Senate race
Main article: 2018 United States Senate election in Michigan

In September 2017, James entered the Republican primary for the 2018 United States Senate election in Michigan[8] in an attempt to unseat three-term incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow, as well as become Michigan's first African-American senator. Despite musician and Michigan native Kid Rock publicly toying with the idea of running for the seat for months, the primary came down to James and Grosse Pointe businessman Sandy Pensler.[9] James was endorsed via Twitter by President Donald Trump on July 27, 2018, eleven days before the Republican primary.[10] James won the GOP nomination with 55 percent of the vote.[11]

On November 6, 2018, incumbent Senator Debbie Stabenow defeated James 52.3% to 45.8%.[12]

Potential United Nations ambassadorship

In late November 2018, Bloomberg News reported that President Donald Trump was considering nominating James to become the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, to replace Ambassador Nikki Haley, who previously announced that she was planning on leaving the Trump administration by the end of 2018. James reportedly met at the White House with President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.[13] James was ultimately bypassed for the position. Trump announced he would appoint Heather Nauert, the Spokesperson for the United States Department of State and a former television reporter, to succeed Haley,[14] but Nauert was never formally nominated and announced on February 2019 that she was withdrawing from consideration.[15]

After Nauert's withdrawal, James was again considered by Trump for the ambassadorship,[16] but Trump eventually nominated United States Ambassador to Canada Kelly Knight Craft for the post.[17]

2020 U.S. Senate race
Main article: 2020 United States Senate election in Michigan

Because the election margin in the 2018 Senate race was smaller than expected, James became a front-runner for the Republican nomination to take on Michigan's other incumbent Democratic senator, Gary Peters, in the 2020 election.[18][19] In June 2019, it was reported that in addition to being recruited to take on Peters, the National Republican Congressional Committee was recruiting James to challenge freshman Democratic U.S. Representative Haley Stevens in Michigan's 11th congressional district.[20]

On June 6, 2019, James announced that he was seeking the Republican nomination in 2020 to take on Peters.[21] Michigan is one of two states where an incumbent Democratic senator will be seeking re-election in 2020 in a state won by Trump in 2016.[22]

Political positions

During the 2018 Senate campaign, James ran on a typical Republican platform.[23] The James campaign self-described him as "a pro-life, pro-second amendment, pro-business conservative".[23]

James supports defunding Planned Parenthood and other family planning services.[23] In 2018, James compared Roe v. Wade, the United States Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, to "genocide," drawing criticism from Democrats.[24]

James voted for Ted Cruz in the 2016 Republican presidential primary, saying "I believe Ted Cruz most aligned with my values."[25] By 2018, James described himself as a supporter of Donald Trump.[25] In 2018, James tweeted that he would back President Trump "2,000%".[26]

James opposes the legalization of cannabis.[25]

James supports repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which he called a "monstrosity" in 2018.[27][23]

He opposes sanctuary city policies.[25]

Electoral history
2018 United States Senate election in Michigan (Republican primary) [28]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John James 518,564 54.7
Republican Sandy Pensler 429,885 45.3
Republican William White (write-in) 57 .01
2018 United States Senate election in Michigan[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Debbie Stabenow (incumbent) 2,214,478 52.26 -6.54%
Republican John James 1,938,818 45.76 +7.78%
Green Marcia Squier 40,204 0.95 +0.35
Taxpayers George Huffman III 27,251 0.64 +0.08
Natural Law John Howard Wilhelm 16,502 0.39 +0.15
Write-in Total write-in 18 0.00043 -0.0014
Majority 275,660 6.5% -14.32
Turnout 4,237,231 100.0% -8.9
Democratic hold

References
  1. "A Life Devoted to Service Before Self". John James for U.S. Senate. June 5, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  2. King, R.J.; Schultz, John S.; Beaman, Tom; Keenan, Tim & Calabrese, Dan (October 8, 2012). "30 in Their Thirties 2012". Detroit Business Journal. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  3. Fink, Jenni (October 9, 2018). "Trump Jr. Embodies Party of Privilege, Activist Says, But Michigan GOP Senate Candidate Says His Ancestors Were Slaves". Newsweek. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  4. Karoub, Jeff (August 8, 2018). "Trump-Backed John James Wins Michigan's GOP Senate Nod". Associated Press. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  5. James Group International (n.d.). "Leadership". James Group International. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  6. Wheeler, Tatiana (October 1, 2014). "Congratulations to Our Class of 2014 40 Under 40!". Michigan Chronicle. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  7. McKinney, Jeffrey (June 7, 2017). "Is This BE 100s Executive Michigan's Next Republican Senator?". Black Enterprise. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  8. Spangler, Todd (September 21, 2017). "Metro Detroit Businessman John James Joins U.S. Senate Race". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  9. Oosting, Jonathan & Nann Burke, Melissa (November 20, 2017). "Pensler Joins U.S. Senate Race to Take on Stabenow". The Detroit News. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  10. Gibbons, Lauren (July 27, 2018). "Donald Trump Endorses John James in Michigan's U.S. Senate Race". MLive. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  11. Bureau of Elections (September 27, 2018). "2018 Michigan Election Results". Michigan Department of State. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  12. Bureau of Elections (November 26, 2018). "2018 Michigan Election Results". Michigan Department of State. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  13. Jacobs, Jennifer (November 26, 2018). "Trump Considering Ex-Michigan Senate Candidate for UN Ambassador, Sources Say". Bloomberg News. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  14. Johnson, Eliana; Toosi, Nahal; Orr, Gabby & Strauss, Daniel (December 7, 2018). "Trump Picks State Department Spokeswoman for top UN Post". Politico. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  15. Shesgreen, Deirdre (February 16, 2019). "Heather Nauert, President Trump's Choice for UN Ambassador Job, Withdraws in Surprise Move". USA Today. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  16. "Michigan's John James in Running for UN Ambassador, Reports Say". Detroit Free Press. February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  17. Rucker, Philip & Gearan, Anne (February 22, 2019). "Trump Announces Nomination of Kelly Knight Craft to Be Ambassador to United Nations". The Washington Post.
  18. Fleming, Leonard N. (November 12, 2018). "GOP Sees Bright Future for James After Close Senate Race". The Detroit News. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  19. Gibbons, Lauren (December 1, 2018). "Michigan Republicans Hopeful in John James' Political Future After U.S. Senate Loss". MLive.com. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  20. Barrett, Malachi (June 5, 2019). "Republicans Want John James to Run Again, Help Trump Win Michigan". MLive. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  21. Burke, Melissa Nann & Oosting, Jonathan (June 5, 2019). "John James Announces Second Run for U.S. Senate in Michigan". The Detroit News. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  22. Bowman, Bridget; Pathé, Simone & Akin, Stephanie (November 4, 2019). "The Most Vulnerable Senators in 2020: Republicans Play Defense". Roll Call.
  23. Barrett, Malachi (September 21, 2019). "John James Says His 2020 Senate Run Is About Michigan, not Trump". MLive. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  24. "Michigan Democrats Hit John James for Anti-Abortion Comments". MLive. November 23, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  25. "James, Pensler clash on abortion, Trump in GOP U.S. Senate debate". Detroit News. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  26. Burke, Melissa Nann. "John James Pursues Second Run for U.S. Senate in Michigan". The Detroit News. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  27. Perks, Ashley (December 3, 2019). "GOP Set for All-Out Battle over Michigan Senate Seat". The Hill. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  28. Bureau of Elections (August 7, 2018). "Michigan Primary results". 2018 Michigan Primary Election Results. Michigan Department of State. Retrieved November 27, 2018.

Further reading
Party political offices
Preceded by
Pete Hoekstra		 Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Michigan
(Class 2)
2018		 Most recent
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