I had the absolute honor to sit down with Secretary of State Michigan Jocelyn Benson—yes, that Jocelyn Benson—who stood her ground in 2020 when armed protestors tried to intimidate her into overturning a free and fair election. She didn’t back down then, and she’s not backing down now as she runs to become the next governor of Michigan.

In our conversation, Benson opened up about her powerful new book, The Purposeful Warrior: Standing Up for What's Right When the Stakes Are High, and the personal moments that shaped her: being a military spouse while her husband was deployed in Afghanistan, navigating toxic workplaces, surviving a miscarriage that deepened her commitment to reproductive rights, and her early work investigating hate groups in Selma, Alabama. Every chapter of her story is a call to action.

We also talked about the fight for public education, the dangerous divide over truth in America, and what it means to lead with purpose—especially when the stakes are sky-high. As the daughter of educators, a mom, and a public servant, she’s building a future rooted in equity, education, and real economic opportunity.

Jocelyn Benson is woman who runs toward the fire when democracy is under threat. And she’s just getting started. It was an honor to speak with her.

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