In case you missed it, a new report exposes the “cozy relationship” between failed politician John James and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. James has made clear he stands by DeVos’ anti-public education agenda, and the DeVos family network has rewarded him for his support by funneling “massive sums of money” into the race, including into a super PAC which has pumped over a million into the race, and as “numerous DeVos family members have made maximum donations to James’ campaign, totaling tens of thousands.”
James may try to “downplay his ties” to Betsy DeVos as her popularity plummets, but his “swampy” relationship with her family as “one of his biggest backers” confirms he’s in lock step with her agenda.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Salon: Michigan GOP candidate who downplayed ties to DeVos hires her niece after getting $1M cash infusion
- Michigan Republican Senate candidate John James has sought to downplay his ties to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, but new campaign finance disclosures show her family is one of his biggest backers.
- James, an Army veteran and businessman who lost his 2018 Senate race to Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., is running again this cycle against Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., with the backing of President Donald Trump.
- Though he has tried to distance himself from DeVos, James has enjoyed a cozy relationship with her family.
- James has praised Betsy DeVos in the past, arguing that “the job Betsy DeVos is doing in public education, I think, is very, very good.” But as the education secretary has come under heavy criticism for using her position to undermine public education and loan forgiveness programs, as well as to funnel coronavirus relief funds to private religious schools, James has downplayed his connections to her.
- “I haven’t gotten any money from Betsy DeVos,” he declared in a leaked conversation with Black community leaders on which he also downplayed Trump’s racist rhetoric.
- While James has not received any direct contributions from Trump’s education chief, the DeVos family has been one of his biggest backers, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.
- Numerous DeVos family members have made maximum donations to James’ campaign, totaling tens of thousands.
- Though Betsy DeVos vowed that her husband would not be involved in political contributions if she was confirmed, Dick DeVos’ network has funneled massive sums of money into the race — more than twice as much as it did in 2018. The DeVos-funded Better Future Michigan Fund has already spent more than $1 million to oppose Peters, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
- James’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Salon.
- Though James claims to be running on a platform of unity and bipartisanship, he has supported repealing Obamacare; compared abortion to “genocide” and called for the repeal of Roe v. Wade; as well as opposed the legalization of recreational marijuana, which Michigan voters later approved by a double-digit margin.
The Michigan Democratic Party launched JohnJamesRevealed.com to hold the failed U.S. Senate candidate accountable for his positions – including those made over the course of the 2018 campaign that he then tried to delete after losing that campaign. For the first year of his campaign, James was largely in hiding from Michigan press and voters to try to paper over his out-of-touch record, and has only come out of hiding after facing scrutiny from Michiganders.
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