Top Michigan Election Official Issues Stark Warning About 2022 Midterms

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) on Friday warned what the 2022 midterm elections mean for the future of democracy in America.

On MSNBC ’s “Deadline: White House,” host Nicolle Wallace noted how Benson was “just the kind of person” that former President Donald Trump wanted to replace to potentially overturn the 2024 election if the vote doesn’t go his, or another Republican’s, way.

Benson, who was elected as Michigan’s top election official in 2018, faced intimidation from Trump supporters following the 2020 election amid ultimately unsuccessful GOP efforts to overturn President Joe Biden ’s victory.

“You are exactly not just the kind of person, but in Michigan specifically what Donald Trump wants to change for next time. What are your warnings about 2024?” Wallace asked Benson.

“That 2022 will decide whether we have a democracy in 2024,” Benson replied.

“Our ability to protect and defend democracy in 2020 depended entirely on people of integrity on both sides of the aisle protecting the will of the people, saying no when the president called and said, ‘Find me votes,’ and certifying elections despite threats and violence and challenges to those certification processes,” she said.

The 2022 midterms are “when voters will decide who the players are going to be in 2024,” she continued. So, it’s “an opportunity for us to choose champions of democracy and reject those conspiracy theorists who very clearly would not certify an election they don’t agree with.”

Benson expressed hope that voters would “make the right choice.”

“It’s our opportunity between now and election day to make clear to voters in states like Michigan, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, that democracy is on the line,” she concluded. “Their vote this year will determine its future.”

Watch the interview here: