Michigan's Benson Claims Tariffs Cost Families $5,600, Accuses GOP Rival of 'Cowardice' on Face the Nation

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, now the Democratic nominee for governor, sat down with CBS's Margaret Brennan on "Face the Nation" on Sunday, September 6, 2026, to talk affordability, tariffs and election rules. She made several sharp claims about her Republican opponent in the governor's race. None of them were fact-checked in real time.

The Affordability Pitch

Benson opened by citing a University of Michigan analysis showing 40% of the state's population struggles to pay for basic necessities, according to the CBS transcript. She called affordability the "centerpiece" of her campaign, pointing to her record running the Secretary of State's office, including changes to the Department of Motor Vehicles, as proof she can "fix broken systems."

That's a legitimate campaign argument. Running the DMV is not the same job as running a $70 billion state budget, but voters can judge that comparison for themselves.

The Tariff Fight

Brennan noted that 36% of Michigan's exports go to Canada, and that Canada's tariffs on steel, aluminum, U.S.-made dairy and appliances, ranging from 15% to 50% on roughly $20 billion of American goods, are set to take effect Tuesday as part of the ongoing U.S.-Canada trade dispute.

Benson responded that Michigan has already been hit hardest of any state, claiming "the average Michigan family is paying $5,600 more" because of the tariffs. That number came from Benson herself. No independent study or state agency backing that figure was cited on the program, and Brennan did not ask her to source it.

Benson then went after her Republican opponent by name of office, not name, saying he has "voted multiple times in support" of the tariffs instead of Michigan residents, calling that "cowardice." She said she'd negotiate "subnational agreements" with Canada and partner with other governors if elected.

Canada's tariffs are retaliatory, part of a back-and-forth trade dispute the transcript doesn't fully unpack. Framing this purely as something Trump or a legislator "did to" Michigan skips over that it's a two-sided fight.

Mail Ballots and the 2020 Allegation

Brennan pivoted to Benson's day job. She noted that 2 million Michiganders vote by mail, ballots go out on the 19th, and a federal judge blocked the U.S. Postal Service this past Friday from enforcing new mail-ballot rules Trump tried to impose by executive order, according to Head Topics' transcript of the broadcast.

Benson called it "the latest attempt by this Trump administration to try to create chaos and confusion about our democracy," and said she'd use "every tool in our toolbox" to protect mail voting in Michigan.

She then leveled a serious charge at her opponent: that when he lost his last statewide race in 2020, "he did not stand by the will of the voters" and "joined the president in trying to overturn and undermine that election." It went unanswered on the program, and no response from the opponent appears in the available transcript. Voters weighing that claim deserve to hear his side before treating it as settled.

The Voter ID Fight Benson Didn't Mention

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh ordered Michigan officials to respond to an emergency request seeking to place a voter identification amendment on the November ballot, according to Breitbart. Requiring ID to vote is a mainstream position, supported by most Americans across party lines, and IDs are already required for banking, air travel and countless everyday transactions. Benson's own framing on the show, that election-rule changes amount to "chaos and confusion," doesn't distinguish between an executive order on mail ballots and a straightforward voter ID measure headed for the ballot box. Those are different fights with different stakes, and conflating them isn't accurate.

Where Breitbart's Coverage Falls Short

Breitbart's write-up isolated a single line, Benson accusing Trump of trying to "create chaos and confusion about our democracy," and then buried it inside an unrelated scroll of Michigan political stories about the Senate race, a podcaster's comments and a Smithsonian exhibit. Readers get the soundbite without any of Benson's actual argument on tariffs, affordability or the mail-ballot ruling.

Ahead remains the question of whether Benson's $5,600-per-family tariff figure holds up under scrutiny from independent economists, and whether her opponent responds on the record to the 2020 election claim before Michigan voters cast their own mail ballots later this month.