Benson Book Tour: The Purposeful Warrior or Serial Lawbreaker?
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
Benson kicks her race for governor into high gear, promoting The Purposeful Warrior while opponents cry foul.
By Kristine Christlieb, MFEI News & Commentary Editor, and Patrice Johnson, Chair of MFEI
May 5, 2025
Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is promoting her new book, The Purposeful Warrior: Standing Up for What’s Right When the Stakes Are High, with a seven-city book tour beginning in Detroit on May 7 and ending in Washington, D.C., on June 22.
Benson strategically announced the book deal with The Open Field, an imprint of Penguin Random House, on May 22, 2024, before officially launching her campaign for Michigan governor on January 22, 2025. She used a similar strategy in her first, unsuccessful run for Secretary of State in 2010, when she wrote State Secretaries of State: Guardians of the Democratic Process. The book was published in February of 2010 just ahead of the November 2010 election.
The Purposeful Warrior has the backing of both Hollywood and political elites. Maria Shriver, publisher of Benson’s new book, founded The Open Field in partnership with Penguin Life, a division of Penguin Random House in 2021. Shriver, a former journalist and bestselling author, is the daughter of politician Sargent Shriver and activist Eunice Kennedy and the niece of the late U. S. President John F. Kennedy and U. S. Senator Robert Kennedy.
Shriver’s imprint publishes about ten books annually. The Open Field published Adam Kinzinger’s book Renegade: Defending Democracy and Liberty in our Divided Country in 2023, the same year the former lawmaker signed a deal with CNN to be a senior political commentator. Kinzinger, a relatively unknown Republican U.S. Congressman from Illinois, made himself famous serving on former U.S. Congresswoman Liz Cheney’s (R-WY) J6 Committee and opposing President Donald Trump.
Michigan Republicans, however, tend to take a more jaded view of the secretary of state. They cite at least six lawsuits in federal and state courts in which judges have found Benson guilty of violating election laws:
1. RNC v Benson. June 12, 2024, the Michigan Court of Claims struck down SOS Benson’s instructions to apply an “initial presumption of validity” when verifying signatures on absentee ballots. Case No. 24-000041-MZ.
2. Genetski v Benson. Benson found guilty of issuing legally unauthorized guidance regarding signature verification requirements for absentee ballot return envelopes. Case No. 20-000216-MM;
3. Davis v Benson. Oct. 27, 2020, Judge Christopher Murray issued an injunction against the legally unauthorized directive issued by Benson for banning open carry of firearms in places not prohibited by law. Case No. 20-000207-MZ.
4. Carra v Benson. Judge Cynthia Stephens issued a preliminary injunction against Benson and Brater’s legally unauthorized poll challenger directives. The judge ordered the SoS to issue immediate amended written guidance that did comport with Michigan law. Case No. 20-000211-MZ.
5. Johnson v Benson. On Oct. 19, 2020, U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney orderedBenson to revise her guidance to comply with statute regarding the time and manner of election processes. Civil Action No. 1:20-cv-948.
6. O’Halloran v Benson. Oct. 20, 2022, Court of Claims Judge Brock Swartzle orderedBenson to revise her poll challenger guidelines to comply with Michigan Election Law. Case No. 22-000162-MZ.
As of May 4, 2025, the plaintiffs in PILF-v.-Benson argue that Secretary Benson has refused to remove at least 26,000 deceased voters even after a court directed her to do so. The case is pending appeal before the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Order 1:2021-cv-00929.
According to GROK, an AI assistant from xAI, fewer than 10 to 15% of book covers mention the foreword, but Benson’s does, and for good reason. Her Hollywood friend, Academy Award-nominated actress Amanda Seyfried has not only written the foreword, she also is credited with narrating the audiobook.
While it is unclear how the two women
became friends, they were photographed
together at a Variety/Lifetime Power of Women New York event in May 2022, where Seifried
spoke out in support of an international aid organization and abortion rights.
Amanda Seyfried and Jocelyn Benson, May 2022
The book’s marketing statement says Benson’s life forever changed in December 2020 — ostensibly the moment she became a “purposeful warrior”:
. . . when armed protesters descended onto her doorstep, threatening her family. Her only crime: certifying a fair and accurate Presidential election in which the protesters’ preferred candidate – Donald Trump – did not win. Benson refused to back down. She stood her ground, spoke out louder, and helped expose and defeat a coordinated national effort to overturn the election.
While Benson’s seven-city tour is primarily in Michigan, she also will be traveling to Chicago and Washington, D.C., two Democrat strongholds, suggesting she may have ambitions beyond the Michigan governorship.
Tour times and locations may change and should be verified in advance.
Date | Time | City | Location |
May 7 | 5:30 p.m. | Detroit | |
May 12 | 6:30 p.m. | Ann Arbor | |
May 13 | 6:30 p.m. | Grand Rapids | |
May 18 | 1:00 p.m. CT | Chicago, IL | First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple 77 W. Washington Street Chicago, IL 60602 Tickets: Chicago Humanities |
May 23 | 7:00 p.m. | Petoskey | |
June 3 | 7:00 p.m. | Traverse City | National Writers Series of Traverse City City Opera House* 106 E. Front Street Traverse City, MI 49684 *no link |
June 22 | 5:00 p.m. | Washington DC | Politics and Prose Bookstore in Conversation with Chuck Todd 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW Washington, DC 20008 |
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