The campaign for majorities in the Michigan House and Senate is playing out on TV screens across the state this fall. The ads will intensify as Election Day nears. But already, MCFN has tracked more than $4 million in broadcast and cable TV ads focused on candidates for the Legislature. A majority of the money has gone to ads aired in races in Southeast Michigan. read more

posted on 10/12/2018

In 2014, the last time all 38 seats in the Michigan Senate were on the ballot, there were three primary races where the candidates’ campaigns combined to spend more than $400,000. The Michigan Campaign Finance Network labeled those totals "unusually high." In 2018, a series of Senate primaries easily surpassed the $500,000 mark. read more

posted on 09/14/2018

About $23.6 million in political advertisements aired on broadcast TV in Michigan before today’s primary election, according to an analysis of ad-tracking data from Kantar Media/CMAG and filings with the Federal Communications Commission. The wide majority of the ads focused on the race to become Michigan's next governor. read more

posted on 08/07/2018

While broadcast TV ads are usually rare in primary elections for the Michigan House and Senate, a nonprofit organization linked to a major Michigan utility has been airing TV ads promoting five candidates for the state Legislature. The ads are drawing criticism from opponents who are concerned about the groups behind the nonprofit and the general nature of the advertisements. read more

posted on 08/01/2018

Political action committees, super PACs and nonprofit organizations that want to sway Michiganders' votes for governor have already spent about $8.9 million, according to a new analysis from the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. That number will likely rise in the final 12 days before the Aug. 7 primary. read more

posted on 07/26/2018

Michigan candidates and groups that want to influence their races have now aired an estimated $8.3 million in broadcast TV ads in 2018, according to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network's analysis of Federal Communications Commission filings and Kantar Media/CMAG ad-tracking data. read more

posted on 07/09/2018

As of Monday, June 4, Michigan voters had viewed an estimated $4.45 million in political ads on broadcast TV in 2018, according to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network’s analysis of Kantar Media/CMAG ad-tracking data and Federal Communications Commission filings. read more

posted on 06/06/2018

Nonprofit organizations have already been running advertisements promoting two state Senate candidates. The candidates' opponents say the ads are a response to policy stances they've taken. One of the opponents said, “If you aren’t willing to go with what they want, then they are willing to spend what it takes to defeat you." read more

posted on 05/10/2018

The Michigan Campaign Finance Network estimates that there’s been at least $1.01 million in spending by groups that don’t have to disclose their donors as of May 7. The spending includes ads run on broadcast TV, on cable TV and on some radio stations across Michigan. read more

posted on 05/10/2018

Making Government Accountable paid out $1.7 million in the election year, more than other Snyder-linked nonprofits reported spending in past years. read more

posted on 01/18/2018

This fall, mayoral elections in three of Michigan’s largest cities saw at least some involvement from outside groups. In two of the cities, the groups apparently avoided disclosing their donors and showed up in the final weeks before the election, providing little time for their targets to respond. read more

posted on 01/02/2018

The political fight over gun laws in Michigan is less about big checks written to powerful officeholders and more about lobbying, candidate surveys and strategic messaging directed at voters in a handful of key districts with some of those messages coming from groups with secret donors. read more

posted on 10/23/2017

The lengthy legal battle between the leaders of a powerful Michigan law firm and one of its former lawyers is stirring new discussion in Lansing over the role of political contributions in the state’s judicial system, which has seen some of the most expensive judicial races in the country. read more

posted on 08/31/2017

As a handful of ballot proposal campaigns work this summer to change Michigan law in 2018, the names of many individuals and businesses whose dollars ultimately helped fund the campaigns are hidden from public view. read more

posted on 07/21/2017

Despite the fact that none of the general election results were close, the campaigns for Michigan's 14 congressional seats drew about $40.0 million, according to a review of campaign finance disclosures. About 17 percent of that total — $7 million — came from so-called “independent” spenders that can pay for unlimited amounts of TV ads and mailers to try to influence elections. read more

posted on 04/05/2017

The 2016 races for Michigan's highest court weren't competitive. Still, they attracted millions of dollars — much of it coming from undisclosed sources, as is the tradition in Michigan — with the winning side outspending the losing side by an estimated margin of 34 to one. “I was telling people it was 20 to one,” one of the losing candidates said. “I wanted to be conservative. And I guess I was.” read more

posted on 03/16/2017

Michigan’s 2016 elections saw millions of dollars in political spending from groups whose donors remain hidden from public view. The Michigan Campaign Finance Network analyzed TV ad-tracking data and reviewed thousands of pages of disclosures on ad purchases to determine at least $6 million was spent on political TV ads in 2016 by groups whose donors didn’t have to be disclosed. read more

posted on 02/27/2017

Twenty of Michigan’s top independent spenders, which can accept unlimited contributions and expend unlimited amounts in elections, raised $9.9 million over the last two years. About half of that total can be traced to 12 sources. read more

posted on 12/13/2016

A nonprofit organization linked to Gov. Rick Snyder raised $2.24 million from anonymous donors in 2015, its first year of existence, according to a new federal tax filing. That’s more than the NERD Fund, a previous nonprofit organization connected to Snyder’s administration, raised over the three years it was active. read more

posted on 11/23/2016

A nonprofit that incorporated in September has spent large sums in the last weeks to tell voters in Detroit that a ballot proposal there is “awful.” But because of the way the group is wording its attacks, it can protect the identities of its donors. read more

posted on 11/08/2016

For every $1 that’s gone to support the two Democratic nominees for the Michigan Supreme Court, the two Republican nominees have had about $34 in support. According to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network’s analysis of fundraising records and broadcast TV data, the GOP nominees for the state’s high court have seen more than $2.9 million in support for their campaigns with just days remaining before Tuesday’s election. read more

posted on 11/03/2016

In two of Michigan’s most competitive state House races, mystery mailers have emerged touting the conservative credentials of Libertarian candidates. The mystery comes in the fact that the Libertarian candidates mentioned in the mailers have no idea who sent the pieces out. read more

posted on 10/31/2016

Michigan House candidates and their supporters have now aired an estimated $1.37 million in broadcast TV ads this fall, according to an analysis of Kantar Media ad-tracking data and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filings. That total — $1.37 million — is across 11 State House districts and includes ads that have run in the general election campaign through Monday, Oct. 24. read more

posted on 10/26/2016

With little-to-no information available to the public about who's behind them, two secretive funds have been using robocalls to attack Democratic candidates in key Michigan House districts. read more

posted on 10/25/2016

A nonprofit funded by secret donors and connected to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder ran about $266,309 in TV ads this fall touting Snyder’s record and six Republican State House candidates. read more

posted on 10/14/2016

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posted on 10/04/2016

In the days before Tuesday's election, two groups attacked at least seven Republican candidates across five different House districts, potentially impacting one-fifth of the races for open seats currently held by the House GOP. The late attacks tended to focus on candidates who were the more conservative options in competitive races and who were already at a fundraising disadvantage. Read our story and see the attacks by following the links below. read more

posted on 08/05/2016

Alleging that one candidate thinks gun violence is a game and that another's ideas would "handcuff" police officers, dark money-funded mailers have been trying to sway Michigan voters in the days leading up to Tuesday's primary election. The attacks have come from nonprofit organizations, and some have falsely stated they were sent by previously dissolved PACs. And Michigan law allows the donors behind the mailers to remain secret. Read more by following the link below. read more

posted on 08/01/2016

There will be State House candidates on many ballots across Michigan Tuesday who want to strengthen transparency laws and who believe the Legislature should do something about the role of money in politics. That’s according to the responses to questionnaires the Michigan Campaign Finance Network sent out in May to 225 State House candidates. To read more about their responses, follow the links below. read more

posted on 07/29/2016