Fact check: John James bought second home, but no evidence he left his district
- In Michigan governor’s race, Jocelyn Benson claims John James moved across the state and left district he represents in Congress
- James did buy a $2.7 million home outside his district, but he called it a vacation home and there no evidence he moved there
- James is still registered to vote in Shelby Township, which he lists as his primary residence
During a recent debate, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson accused Republican opponent John James of moving to a multimillion-dollar home outside of the district he represents in Congress.
Benson has repeatedly used James’ personal wealth as a talking point in her campaign, claiming that James has used elected office to enrich himself.
Records reviewed by Bridge Michigan show that James and his wife did purchase a house near Grand Rapids in 2024, but there’s no evidence they moved there full-time. James continues to own a home within his congressional district in Shelby Township, where he is registered to vote and which he continues to list as his primary residence.
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Under federal law, a member of Congress must live in the state they represent, but there’s no requirement that they live in the district they represent.
Claims that James lives outside of the district he represents in Congress are among many that Bridge Michigan is fact-checking ahead of the Nov. 3 election, including one on lawsuits filed against Benson as secretary of state. The winner of the gubernatorial race will succeed Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is term-limited.
The claim
In her concluding statement in an Oct. 15 gubernatorial debate, Benson said of James, “he’s made so much money that he left his district and bought a three-million-dollar house in Grand Rapids, moving to the other side of the state from the constituents he was elected to represent.”
Benson repeated a version of the claims the next day during a campaign stop in Traverse City, saying James traded stocks and cut taxes for the companies he’s supposed to be regulating before “actually leaving his district to move to the other side of Grand Rapids to buy a three million dollar home.”
While James’ wealth has grown considerably since he was first elected to Congress, Bridge previously found that his net worth has grown primarily from his stake in a Detroit-based logistics company started by his father.
The facts
Records reviewed by Bridge show James purchased a home in Cannon Township, just outside Grand Rapids, for $2.7 million in 2024.
It sits on roughly 50 acres, includes a private pool and waterfront access to a pond or stream, according to real estate listings. When The Detroit News reported on the purchase in 2024, James told the newspaper it was a vacation home.
Since 2023, James has represented Michigan’s 10th Congressional District in the House, which includes parts of Macomb and Oakland counties.
When James first ran to represent the district in 2022, he resided in Farmington Hills, which is not in the district. Property records show James purchased the Shelby Township house on Dec. 13, 2022, about a month after winning the Congressional seat in the November 2022 election.
James continues to claim primary residence property tax status on a house in Shelby Township, indicating he still lives in the district. James is also registered to vote at this address, according to records reviewed by Bridge. He appeared to be in the home during a recent CNN interview.
Property tax records also show that James does not claim a principal residence exemption on the Cannon Township property.
When contacted for comment by Bridge Michigan, the Benson campaign denied that Benson said James made the Kent County home his primary residence. Rather, they said she highlighted that James purchased a home outside of his district.
Noting Benson has held fundraisers in California, a James campaign spokesperson suggested her primary residence appears to be in that state.
“John James’ primary residence remains in Shelby Township,” said the spokesperson, Alyvia Bailey. “This is nothing more than smoke and mirrors from a corrupt career politician who is trying to distract from her failed record.”
Bottom line
Records reviewed by Bridge show that James’ primary residence is his house in Shelby Township, which is within the boundaries of the congressional district he represents. James bought another property in Kent County, but there’s no indication he moved there full-time.
Regardless, living outside of the district one represents in Congress is legally permissible, although doing so often draws scrutiny from the public and political opponents.
This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan (bridgemi.com), a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. To get regular coverage from Bridge Michigan, sign up for a free Bridge Michigan newsletter here
This article first appeared on Bridge Michigan and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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