John James

LANSING, MI – An Ingham County judge has issued a preliminary injunction against U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, requiring him to stop using his current governor’s campaign logo, at least for now.

The injunction, issued in Ingham County Circuit Court by Judge Wanda Stokes, comes in response to a lawsuit filed last month by James’ GOP primary opponent, businessman Perry Johnson.

The lawsuit asked James to immediately stop printing and distributing any materials that use the logo with the phrase, “John James Governor.”

Johnson’s legal team argued in the April 22 lawsuit that James, now a member of Congress, is misleading people into believing he’s the incumbent.

In a 47-page legal rebuttal filed earlier this month, attorneys for James requested that the lawsuit be dismissed. They called it “political lawfare,” arguing that it provides no real proof of a violation and that Johnson’s campaign has used the same language it is now suing over.

Today, Johnson’s campaign advisor John Yob wrote in a post on social media that attorney Matt DePerno “defeated the John James campaign in court.”

“Perry Johnson won the injunction stopping the James campaign from continuing to break the law with the deception that James is some sort of de facto nominee or incumbent,” Yob said. “He is not.”

In comments to MLive, Johnson said the lawsuit was “never just about one campaign sign or one ad. This was about protecting the integrity of elections and making sure Michigan voters are not deceived.”

“John James must redo his campaign materials and begin being honest with voters,” Johnson said.

In response, James’ counsel Charlie Spies signaled the potential for an appeal.

“Perry Johnson is the only person who is concerned about who the governor of Michigan is,” he said. “We believe the statute in question is unconstitutional and a court of appeals will determine that.”

It’s not yet entirely clear what impact the preliminary injunction will have on James’ campaign, which has used the logo on its materials for months now.

James’ attorneys previously argued that mandating him to stop sharing the materials would require him to delete hundreds of social media posts, change TV ads and destroy banners and T-shirts on the eve of a primary election.

In a signed affidavit, his campaign manager, Jackson Gross, said it would be impossible to comply based on the volume of materials shared.

Updating his campaign website alone would take more than 20 hours working with vendors and developers, Gross said.

The logo, a crest with an American-flag background and a helicopter, features only the words “John James” and “Governor.”

The lawsuit alleges that James is “acting as if he is the incumbent governor with no indication that he is merely a candidate,” pointing to a failure to use necessary phrasing like “John James for Governor” or “Elect John James Governor.”

Michigan law forbids candidates from using campaign materials -- including radio, television, newspapers, cards or stationery -- that give the impression that they are an incumbent. A violation is a $500, 90-day misdemeanor.

Johnson argued in his lawsuit that James’ use of the “John James Governor” campaign logo is “widespread, repeated and central to the campaign’s branding, indicating that it is intentional rather than inadvertent.”

“The campaign materials are false and clearly designed to influence voters in an upcoming election,” the filing reads.

The James campaign, represented by Grand Rapids law firm Dickinson Wright, argued in its May 7 rebuttal that the Johnson campaign provided no factual evidence of a violation, relying solely on James’ logo and “conveniently omitting the context surrounding the use of that logo.”

Johnson’s prior and current campaigns have used the same language he’s criticizing James for, they said, also arguing that the incumbency law is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment.

The lawsuit is the latest in a series of jabs between Johnson and James, both now considered frontrunners ahead of the Tuesday, Aug. 4, primary election.

Other Republican candidates running for the open governor’s seat are state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township; former Attorney General Mike Cox; and pastor Ralph Rebandt.