JAMES HEAD-SCRATCHER

Unconventional would be too kind of a word to describe what Republican primary voters have been offered by Congressman John James (R-Macomb County, Rochester, Rochester Hills) as he makes a run for the governor post in the 2026 election. For starters, James has spent the last nine months skipping public appearances at Republican events and GOP candidates forums, starting with the forum of governor candidates last September on Mackinac Island at the Republicans annual gathering. Most recently he blew off a Saginaw candidates get-together in early March. His public position has been that he saw no need to debate other would-be contenders for the state’s highest elected post until after the April filing deadline when the actual field of candidates would be finalized. But that doesn’t explain why he has asked the Oakland County Republican Party to remove his photo and name from an upcoming gubernatorial debate scheduled after the April 21 filing deadline. Maybe he’s still smarting from being booed at the recent county convention in Novi. Or could it be his embarrassment from the Detroit News report of late that the congressman skipped nearly 10 percent of roll call votes during 2025. Then there’s the mystery, captured by multiple media outlets, of where he spent the recent recess of the House. First thought, thanks to a TMZ picture, to be in the Turks and Caicos with his family. But then there was the social media posted picture of James at the Tigers home opener game (he wasn’t there at Comerica Park). And the photo of him at a gun range (also questionable because it may have been a photo from August of 2025). And then there was the fundraising email a week into April – with James saying that he needed donations and without a strong response the campaign “could be over.”

John James