Posts tagged 2008 News

Anonymous donors dominated Supreme Court campaign

LANSING – More than 60 percent of spending for the Michigan Supreme Court campaign between incumbent Chief Justice Clifford Taylor and Judge Diane Marie Hathaway will not be disclosed in any campaign finance report because it paid for candidate-focused “issue” advertising. Michigan campaign fi... read more

posted on 11/19/2008

Campaign Finance 2008: A first look back

Not all the campaign finance data that will be reported are in. Candidate committees have to file post-election reports, and late independent expenditures by state PACs will not be reported until the end of January. But some major story lines from Campaign 2008 are already clear. Here is a first loo... read more

posted on 11/11/2008

Top PACs raised $37.1 million

LANSING -- Michigan’s top 150 political action committees (PACs) reported raising $37.1 million dollars in their pre-election October reports. That total is down by 28.5 percent compared to corresponding figures from the record-setting 2006 election cycle, when the top 150 PACs reported $51.9 mill... read more

posted on 10/29/2008

House candidates raise $11.7 million

The candidates who will appear on the November 4th ballot for the Michigan House of Representatives had raised $11,675,666 through October 19th, the date they closed books for their pre-general election campaign finance report. That total is 1.3 percent less than corresponding figures from the re... read more

posted on 10/28/2008

Underground Supreme Court campaign

LANSING – Chief Justice Clifford W. Taylor and Judge Diane Marie Hathaway already have raised more than $2 million for their Supreme Court election contest: Taylor: $1.8 million and Hathaway: $370,000. Taylor's campaign has spent $1,265,000 for television advertisements while Hathaway's campai... read more

posted on 10/27/2008

Obama's late ad-vantage

LANSING - Barack Obama’s presidential campaign spent 50 percent more for television advertising than John McCain in the first five weeks after Labor Day in Michigan: $5,546,000 to $3,683,000. Obama’s September surge overcame McCain’s early television spending advantage in Michigan, which was d... read more

posted on 10/06/2008

Growth sector? Lobbying in Lansing!

LANSING – Lansing lobbyists reported spending $19,159,635 in the first seven months of 2008, according to reports filed with the Michigan Department of State. That total is up by eight percent compared to the first seven months of 2007. Five multi-client firms topped the lobbying expenditure li... read more

posted on 09/17/2008

House candidates on record-setting fund-raising pace

Candidates for the Michigan House of Representatives have raised $10.4 million and spent $6.9 million this election cycle through August 25th, according to post-primary campaign finance reports filed with the Michigan Bureau of Elections. The amount raised by candidates through the post-primary repo... read more

posted on 09/10/2008

Presidential advertising at $13.6M in Michigan

LANSING – The presidential candidates’ campaigns and their supporters spent $13.6 million for television advertising in Michigan between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Sen. John McCain’s campaign spent $6.15 million, while Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign spent $5.48 million. Among supporting gr... read more

posted on 09/02/2008

Taylor’s campaign sets Supreme Court fundraising record

LANSING – The campaign of Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Clifford Taylor has raised $1,464,000 so far this year, setting a new record for a Michigan Supreme Court candidate’s campaign committee. Taylor had raised $1,419,000 as of August 7th, according to his pre-convention campaign finance... read more

posted on 08/19/2008

Limited competition for state judicial seats

LANSING – Michiganders will elect 249 state court judges this November and three-fourths of those seats have only one candidate. There are 180 incumbents (12 court of appeals, 66 circuit court, 91 district court and 11 probate court) with no challenger for the primary or general election, and six ... read more

posted on 07/31/2008

Top PACs have raised $27.3M

LANSING – Michigan’s top 150 political action committees have raised $27,347,768 so far this election cycle, according to reports filed with the Michigan Bureau of Elections and compiled by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. This year’s total is down by nine percent compared to the top ... read more

posted on 07/29/2008

Michigan House candidates' fundraising tops $8.4 million

LANSING -- The field of 449 primary election candidates for the Michigan House of Representatives reports raising $8.4 million this election cycle through July 20th, according to reports on file with the state’s Bureau of Elections as of July 27th. The 65 House incumbents have raised $3.5 milli... read more

posted on 07/28/2008

Presidential TV ads: $7.2 million so far

LANSING – Television advertising for the 2008 presidential general election got a late start by recent Michigan standards but presidential TV ads have become a consistent presence in recent weeks. John McCain’s television campaign began May 28th and spent $3.2 million by July 20th. Barack... read more

posted on 07/23/2008

New guide explores redistricting

LANSING – The Michigan Campaign Finance Network today announced the availability of new publication from the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, A Citizen’s Guide to Redistricting. The Citizen’s Guide is a comprehensive look at the rules for drawing political district lines, in... read more

posted on 07/10/2008

Poll's message to pols: Fix this mess

LANSING - A new poll of Michigan residents shows broad dissatisfaction with the performance of state government and deep concern about economic-related issues. Michiganders had the most negative view about the direction of their state in the five-state Midwestern survey: 16 percent right track, 81 p... read more

posted on 06/19/2008

Money behind the policy push

Two of the major policy initiatives in Lansing this legislative session have been driven by seven-figure advertising campaigns, more than $700,000 in political contributions to legislators so far this election cycle and hefty lobbying campaigns, the extent of which will never be known with any real ... read more

posted on 05/22/2008

New Report Documents Special Interest Pressure on Midwest Courts

The Midwest Democracy Network and the Justice at Stake Campaign released the following statement to accompany their new report, The New Politics of Judicial Elections in the Great Lake States, 2000-2008: “This spring, Wisconsin voters endured their second special-interest-group dominated Supr... read more

posted on 05/08/2008

Top PACs have raised $21.8 million this cycle

LANSING – Michigan’s top 150 political action committees (PACs) have raised $21.8 million so far this election cycle, according to reports filed with the Michigan Bureau of Elections. That total is down by 6 percent compared to funds raised by the top 150 PACs at this point in the record-sett... read more

posted on 04/28/2008

Stop the Revolving Door

LANSING – The Michigan Campaign Finance Network joined other reform advocates today in calling for a mandatory pause in the ‘revolving door’ between high-level public service and paid lobbying. Michigan is in the minority nationally in not requiring an interruption between legislating or ex... read more

posted on 03/10/2008

Lobbyists reported spending $32.1M in 2007

revised 2/21/2008 LANSING – Lansing lobbyists spent $32,101,151 in 2007, according to reports filed with the Michigan Department of State. That total is up by six percent compared to 2006. Governmental Consultant Services, Inc., a multi-client firm, was the leading spender again in 2007 at $... read more

posted on 02/20/2008

Grassroots to Legislature: Support Impartial Justice

LANSING – Grassroots activists brought a simple message to Lansing on Tuesday: Michigan’s high-priced and largely secretive Supreme Court election campaigns undermine public trust and confidence in the state’s highest court. Taxpayer-financed election campaigns would give Supreme Court candida... read more

posted on 02/19/2008

Delayed accountability beats no accountability

REVISED 2/4/2008 LANSING – State officeholders’ first required campaign finance reports since their 2006 post-election reports were due on Thursday January 31st. During the time since their last reports were filed they have collectively raised $4,452,100, according to data compiled by the Mic... read more

posted on 02/01/2008

Health check-up for Midwest democracy

LANSING – Political reform organizations from five Midwest states have collaborated to publish a new book that assesses the state of democracy in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The volume analyzes political pathologies that are unique to the respective states and those that cut... read more

posted on 01/16/2008

Romney is top TV spender in Michigan GOP presidential primary

LANSING -- Former Massachusetts Governor Willard “Mitt” Romney was the leading spender in Michigan’s 2008 Republican presidential primary television ad wars. Romney spent over $2 million, nearly three-times as much as Arizona Senator John McCain, and more than four-times as much as former Arka... read more

posted on 01/14/2008

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