John James (Michigan politician) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John James
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 10th district |
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| Assumed office January 3, 2023 |
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| Preceded by | Lisa McClain (redistricted) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Edward James
June 8, 1981 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Elizabeth James |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 2004–2012 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | Iraq War |
| Awards |
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John Edward James (born June 8, 1981) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Michigan's 10th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was its nominee for U.S. Senate in 2018 and 2020.
In 2022, James declared his candidacy in Michigan's redrawn 10th congressional district. He defeated Democratic nominee Carl Marlinga by a narrow margin.
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Early life and military career
James was born in Southfield, Michigan, in 1981 and grew up Baptist in the Palmer Woods neighborhood of Detroit. He graduated from the Catholic Brother Rice High School in 1999. He graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 2004, and served eight years in the Army, participating in multiple tours of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom as an AH-64 Apache pilot. Two of his West Point classmates are fellow Congressmen Wesley Hunt and Pat Ryan. He attended the Ranger School and became Ranger-tabbed as a Captain.
James received a master's degree in supply chain management from Penn State University's Smeal College of Business and an MBA from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.
Business career
In 2012, James joined James Group International, where his father, John A. James, was the CEO. James Group is a global supply chain management service company; James became its director of operations, and eventually became president of James Group International and CEO of its subsidiary, Renaissance Global Logistics. Renaissance Global, based in Detroit, was the recipient of a $1–2 million Paycheck Protection Program loan during the COVID-19 pandemic.
James was named one of Detroit Business Journal's 30 in their 30s of 2012, and Michigan Chronicle's 40 under 40 of 2014. He served as a board member of the Michigan Council for Future Mobility, Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council and National Veteran Business Development Council. He serves on the Detroit Workforce Development Board.
Political career
2018 U.S. Senate race
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In September 2017, James entered the Republican primary for the 2018 United States Senate election in Michigan in an attempt to unseat three-term incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow, as well as become Michigan's first African-American senator. Despite musician and Michigan native Kid Rock publicly toying with the idea of running for the seat for months, the primary came down to James and Grosse Pointe businessman and former Wayne County Commissioner Sandy Pensler. James was endorsed via Twitter by President Donald Trump on July 27, 2018, eleven days before the primary. James won the nomination with 55% of the vote.
On November 6, 2018, Stabenow defeated James, 52.3% to 45.8%.
Potential United Nations ambassadorship
In late November 2018, Bloomberg News reported that Trump was considering nominating James to become the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, to replace Ambassador Nikki Haley, who previously announced that she was planning to leave the Trump administration by the end of 2018. James reportedly met at the White House with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. He was ultimately bypassed for the position. Trump announced he would appoint Heather Nauert, the Spokesperson for the United States Department of State and a former television reporter, to succeed Haley, but Nauert was never nominated and announced in February 2019 that she was withdrawing from consideration.
After Nauert's withdrawal, Trump again considered James for the ambassadorship, but eventually nominated United States Ambassador to Canada Kelly Knight Craft for the post.
2020 U.S. Senate race
Because the election margin in the 2018 Senate race was smaller than expected, James became a front-runner for the Republican nomination to take on Michigan's other incumbent Democratic senator, Gary Peters, in the 2020 election.
As well as being recruited to take on Peters, it was reported in June 2019 that the National Republican Congressional Committee was recruiting James to challenge freshman Democratic U.S. Representative Haley Stevens of Michigan's 11th congressional district.
On June 6, 2019, James announced that he was seeking the Republican nomination in 2020 to take on Peters. Michigan was one of two states in which an incumbent Democratic senator was seeking reelection during 2020 in a state won by Trump in 2016, the other being Alabama. Although the Associated Press called the race for Peters on November 4, 2020, James refused to concede, which Peters termed "pathetic." James initially insisted that the election had not been administered fairly. He established a joint legal fund with the Republican National Committee to challenge the results. James claimed there was "ample evidence" for an investigation, but offered none. He raised $2 million after the election as he sought to challenge the election results, and he unsuccessfully attempted to block certification of the results of the election, which he lost to Peters by 1.7% of the vote, which was much closer than originally projected. James conceded on November 24 over social media, congratulating Peters.
During his campaign, James pledged to give 5% of his campaign contributions to charity. The James fundraising committee reported about $46.12 million in total contributions for the 2020 election and has given more than $2.36 million to charities.
U.S House of Representatives
James won the Republican primary in the 2022 election in Michigan's 10th congressional district. He defeated Democrat Carl Marlinga in the November general election.
Committee assignments
As of the 118th Congress, James is a member of the following committees.
- Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
- Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment (Vice Chair)
- Subcommittee on Aviation
- Foreign Affairs Committee
- Subcommittee on Africa (Chairman)
- Subcommittee for Western Hemisphere
- Education & the Workforce Committee
- Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development
Personal life
James married his wife, Elizabeth, in 2012. They have three sons.
See also
