The finances that matter in tonight's House Primary, shown in three infographics. read more

posted on 08/04/2020

The Committee To Recall Governor Gretchen Whitmer has withdrawn its ballot language and organizers have left with complaints its founder misspent committee money. read more

posted on 08/03/2020

New disclosures reveal how the shutdown dropped donations to legislators. But people didn’t stop giving to candidates. Special interests did. read more

posted on 07/31/2020

Despite a smaller presence in Lansing compared with other unions, since 2010 organizations representing law enforcement have given to 112 of the 147 legislators currently in office. read more

posted on 07/06/2020

An array of out-of-state nonprofits, funded by some of the same organizations that capitalized on the Tea Party movement, are creating an ecosystem of alternative media online, delivering political reporting, grassroots organizing, advocacy and even satire to Michiganders through Facebook. Now they're harnessing resentment toward the state's stay-at-home order. read more

posted on 05/15/2020

A single liberal super PAC, Priorities USA Action, is spending $17.3 million to run ads every week until the general election. read more

posted on 05/10/2020

If Facebook in the week before Michigan's primary was any prelude to what voters can expect before November, dark money organizations could be flooding news feeds. read more

posted on 03/18/2020

Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, the two leading progressives in the race, have also begun advertising on Michigan airwaves. read more

posted on 02/24/2020

Use our infographic to examine the funding sources of every House candidate. read more

posted on 02/06/2020

The 501(c)(4), which are not meant to directly aid politcians, was created two weeks before the Governor's speech. read more

posted on 01/31/2020

Bloomberg has spent about $6.6 million in the last eight weeks running ads. In 2020 they have represented 79% of all political advertisements on air. read more

posted on 01/17/2020

The MCFN board of directors is pleased to announce Simon D. Schuster has been selected as MCFN's new executive director. read more

posted on 11/25/2019

A statewide advertising campaign that promotes Enbridge’s oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac uses the image of a government scientist who found that 700 miles of Great Lakes shoreline would be at risk if the line ruptures. The agency the scientist works for says it didn't give permission for Enbridge to use the image in the ad campaign. read more

posted on 09/30/2019

Some Michigan lawmakers have been headlining fundraisers where donors are specifically asked to make “corporate contributions only," according to invitations obtained by MCFN. It's a request that could help ensure the sources of money and the groups collecting it remain secret. read more

posted on 09/24/2019