SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — Accusations of outsourcing, lying, losing, desperation and what one candidate described as "magic numbers" flew Wednesday night at a debate featuring the three men who hope to be the Republican nominee for governor this fall.

Twenty-seven days before the Aug. 4 primary election, former Attorney General Mike Cox, U.S. Rep. John James and businessman Perry Johnson stood together inside the Fox 2 studio in Southfield and fielded questions from moderator Roop Raj and some political figures who happened to be in the audience.

Cox of Livonia accused James of squandering President Donald Trump's endorsement in two past U.S. Senate races. Johnson of Bloomfield Hills said James should return money that a company he was tied to received from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

For his part, James of Shelby Township said his opponents were desperate and "flooding the zone with B.S."

“These two gentlemen would troll Jesus and say he couldn’t swim because he walked on water," James said at one point.

The following are some of the key points from the debate Wednesday night.

1. Attacks on James proliferate

Both Cox and Johnson repeatedly targeted James, pointing to the fact that many see James as the favorite to win the primary next month.

James was first elected to the U.S. House in 2022 and was endorsed for governor by Trump on June 22. He mentioned Trump's support in the second sentence of his opening statement Wednesday.

Cox quickly attacked James, saying he appeared to be defensive.

"Perhaps it's because the last two times he had the president's endorsement, he squandered it and lost," Cox said. "At the end of the day, Michigan Republicans need to nominate ... a winner."

Cox was referring to the fact that James lost races for the U.S. Senate in 2018 and 2020.

Cox also made claims about business dealings tied to James with China and about importing shipments from Japan.

Johnson called James "the best ever at getting money," contending $100 million was spent on his unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate in 2020.

"We've never spent that kind of money," Johnson said, touting the fact he's self-funding his campaign. "It's all my money."

Johnson's campaign has aired about $25 million in TV advertisements so far this year.

2. James pushes back

James aggressively pushed back on his opponents' statements during the debate.

James said his company works with Ford Motor Co. and General Motors and focuses on exporting parts to other countries.

"You didn't come here to see a bunch of grown men bicker," James added.

But he also said that Cox hadn't won an election since the iPhone was invented. Cox won his second and final term as attorney general in 2006. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone in early January 2007, days after Cox began his second term as attorney general.

"The last election that he ran statewide, he came in a distant third place," James said, referring to Cox's campaign for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2010. "So frankly, we need to own up to reality.

"Mike Cox is a fighter. I'll grant that. But he's not a winner," James said.

James also accused Johnson of shipping jobs to China and Mexico.

3. Johnson offers a bet

In response to the outsourcing claim, Johnson offered James a $5 million wager at one point.

"I'll bet him $5 million," Johnson said.

Johnson appeared to suggest that James was referring to a company called Perry Johnson Outsourcing that, he said, exists only in India for India.

"It doesn't exist. It does no work," Johnson said.

"I am willing to bet him $20 million," Johnson said of the outsourcing claim.

James didn't respond to the wager offer.

Johnson made his personal fortune developing quality controls for the auto industry.

4. Frequent feuding

The frequent criticisms made for a rocky debate, as Raj attempted to get the candidates to stop speaking over one another.

At one point, Raj told the candidates that people are sick of "screaming and yelling."

About 30 minutes into the debate, Raj said it wasn't going to be a "free-for- all."

"If someone starts to talk over someone, we'll let it go for a couple seconds, but then, if it becomes something where you can't answer the question, we'll get in there and make sure you get your rebuttal," Raj said.

5. Differences on budget numbers

James and Johnson clashed on how to approach trimming Michigan's more than $80 billion state budget.

Johnson has vowed to eliminate the state's 4.25% personal income tax that generates more than $13 billion a year, a large chunk of the money that funds state government's operations. His advertisements have said his plan to do away with the income tax would return an estimated $4,747 annually to the average family of four.

James called Johnson's numbers "magic" and said Johnson admitted the numbers came from ChatGPT.

Johnson denied the ChatGPT claim. "That's stupid," he shouted.

"We're dealing with reality," James said. "We're dealing with facts."

James said he had identified $3 billion within the budget to return to people.

6. Cox seeks special session

Cox said if he's elected, he would call a special session of the Legislature in January to eliminate the income tax and to implement education reforms to improve the school system.

He wants schools to be graded on their performance and students to be taught phonics, he said.

"Those things are the things I would love to talk about," Cox said.

7. Political operatives get to ask questions

At least three people who've worked for Republican politicians in the past got to ask questions of the GOP candidates for governor at the Fox 2 debate Wednesday night.

Raj identified the individuals as members of the studio audience.

One of them was Abby Mitch, who previously worked as communications director for John James, one of the candidates participating in the debate.

Another question came from Andrea Bitely, a public relations consultant who previously worked for independent candidate Mike Duggan's campaign for governor and Republican former Attorney General Bill Schuette.

Macomb County-based Republican political consultant Jamie Roe also got to ask a question. Roe was the co-founder of a now-defunct Lansing political consulting firm that worked on James' 2018 Senate campaign.

The night before the debate, Roe was on Raj's show, "The Pulse," billed as a "conservative commentator," analyzing what could set James, Cox and Johnson apart in the debate.

"It's only fair that I get to ask the next question," tweeted Derrick Honeyman, spokesman for the Michigan Democratic Party.

Raj, who moderated the debate, defended the use of political operatives being allowed to ask the candidates questions.

"We had a lot of different people who wanted to come here," Raj said.

He cited Bitely, given her past work for Republicans and for a one-time Democrat (Duggan), who ran an independent campaign for governor before dropping out in late May.

"We thought she'd have questions that were interesting," Raj told reporters.

Asked how the TV station chose audience members, Raj replied, "We were looking for conservatives and independents."

8. James denies being a 'trust fund baby'

During the debate, Cox said he had built his own law firm rather than being a "nepo baby" or a "trust fund baby," a potential slight against James, whose father founded a trucking and supply chain company decades ago.

Moments later, James said he was "the walking result of the American dream."

"My family came from the Jim Crow South for a better life in Michigan," James said.

"He called me a trust fund baby," James said of Cox, adding that his parents had not given him anything and citing his service in the military.

"Frankly, it's shameful that this man would insinuate that I was anything other than a hard worker," James said.

9. Candidates talk Trump

One of the first questions Wednesday night focused on what the GOP candidates would do if Trump took an action that hurt the people of Michigan.

Perry Johnson said, "I find it very unlikely that is ever going to happen."

But Johnson said he would attempt to reason with the president.

Cox used the question to attack James, saying James had "squandered" Trump's endorsement in two U.S. Senate campaigns in 2018 and 2020.

"The reality is the president respects winners, which I've won statewide office twice," Cox said.

James said he has a great relationship with the president and would make calls to members of his administration if needed to talk to them.

"We're going to make sure we're in front of the line and not continuously at the back," James said.

10. What was written on Mike Cox's hand?

After the debate, Cox and Johnson took questions — separately — from reporters in a conference room at Fox 2's Southfield studio. James did not participate.

During Cox's exchange with reporters, he was asked about handwriting that was visible on the palm of his left hand.

The black ink appeared to say, "John James Made in China."

Cox, a lawyer in private practice, said it was a note for office supplies he needed to purchase.

"My assistant gave me some stuff she wanted me to order, or she wanted to buy. I wrote it on my hand because I was walking out of the office," Cox told reporters. "Sorry to disappoint. Boring office supplies."

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