Posts tagged "2014 News"

Constitutional executives' campaigns: $72.3M

LANSING - The 2014 campaigns for Michigan's constitutional executive officers exceeded $72 million according to reports filed with the Michigan Bureau of Elections and advertising records compiled by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network from the public files of state broadcasters and cable systems.... read more

posted on 12/10/2014

Michigan's 2014 legislator campaigns: $44.3M

LANSING - Michigan's 2014 campaigns to select legislators were a $44.3 million affair according to reports filed with the Michigan Department of State. Michigan Senate campaigns had almost $19 million, while Michigan House campaigns had $25.4 million. Michigan Senate Looking across the state, ... read more

posted on 12/10/2014

Michigan's 2014 Supreme Court Campaign: $10.4M

LANSING - Michigan's 2014 Supreme Court campaign topped $10 million, according to reports filed with the Michigan Bureau of Elections and advertising records compiled by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network from the public files of state broadcasters and cable systems. In a pattern that has beco... read more

posted on 12/10/2014

Gubernatorial air war: $47.6 million

LANSING - Television advertising for Michigan's 2014 gubernatorial campaign ran to $47.6 million, gross sales. That total for TV spending in a Michigan gubernatorial campaign ranks second, all time, to the $54 million spent in the 2006 campaign between Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Dick DeVos. This ... read more

posted on 11/19/2014

Dark money dominated Supreme Court, AG TV campaigns

LANSING -- Unreported, unregulated "dark money" paid the majority of costs for television advertising in Michigan's 2014 supreme court and attorney general campaigns, according to records compiled by the nonpartisan Michigan Campaign Finance Network. The Michigan Republican Party was the principa... read more

posted on 11/12/2014

PACs on record fundraising pace

Updated 10/29/2014 to include Michigan for All and Progressive Kick superPACs LANSING--Michigan's top 150 state political action committees (PACs) have raised $60.1 million since January 1, 2013. That total is up by 73 percent compared to the amount raised by the top 150 PACs in the same period l... read more

posted on 10/28/2014

State candidates' campaign finances - two weeks out

LANSING - Candidates for state offices in Michigan filed reports on Friday, October 24th that summarized their campaign finance activities for the period from August 26th through October 19th. Those were the final complete reports to be filed by the candidates prior to the November 4th election, alt... read more

posted on 10/26/2014

Supreme Court candidates on accountability for political advertising

Several members of the 2011-2012 Judicial Selection Task Force, including its co-chairs, retired Justice Marilyn Kelly and Senior Judge James L. Ryan, sent a single question to this year's candidates for Michigan Supreme Court: Do you support the recommendation of the nonpartisan Michigan Judicia... read more

posted on 10/20/2014

Michigan Congressional Candidates Have Raised $26.45M

LANSING - Michigan's candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives raised $6.1 million in the 3rd quarter of 2014 according to reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission yesterday. That brings the fundraising total for active candidates to $26.45 million for the election cycle, through S... read more

posted on 10/16/2014

Top Michigan Donors to RGA, DGA

LANSING - Michigan voters have been exposed to a barrage of advertising about the gubernatorial candidates sponsored by the Republican Governors Association and the Democratic Governors Association. Through the end of September the RGA had sponsored $6.3 million-worth of ads, and the DGA sponsored $... read more

posted on 10/16/2014

$600K MI GOP Supreme Court Ad: Is it Dark Money?

The Michigan Republican Party has launched the television campaign for the 2014 Michigan Supreme Court election. The MI GOP ran a $500,000 flight of broadcast TV ads about its Supreme Court nominees in the Detroit, Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo and Flint/Saginaw media markets between October 1st and Octobe... read more

posted on 10/10/2014

MI Senate air war: $32.3 million - and counting

LANSING - The campaigns of Michigan's U.S. Senate candidates and their independent supporters had spent $32.3 million for television advertisements about the candidates through the end of September. That total represents gross sales. Records of the advertising were compiled by the Michigan Campai... read more

posted on 10/03/2014

Gubernatorial air war: $19.2M - and counting

LANSING - Spending for television advertising about Michigan's gubernatorial candidates has reached $19.2 million with five weeks to go before Election Day. That figure represents gross sales. The data were compiled by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network from the public files of state broadcast... read more

posted on 10/01/2014

Lobbying: Spending up, disclosure poor

LANSING - Reported spending by Michigan lobbyists totaled $20,574,448 in the first seven months of 2014 according to reports filed with the Michigan Department of State that have been compiled by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. That amount is up by 2.5 percent compared to the corresponding... read more

posted on 09/26/2014

AG, SoS, MSC incumbents hold campaign finance advantage over challengers

LANSING - Incumbents nominees for statewide office continue to hold a wide campaign finance advantage over their challengers for the November election, according to reports filed with the Michigan Bureau of Elections. Candidates for attorney general, secretary of state, lieutenant governor and just... read more

posted on 09/23/2014

Legislative candidates have raised $22.9 million

LANSING - Candidates for the Michigan legislature have raised $22.9 million so far this election cycle: $12,386,054 by candidates for the Michigan House and $10,556,850 by Michigan Senate candidates. Those figures were compiled by the nonpartisan Michigan Campaign Finance Network from post-primar... read more

posted on 09/09/2014

Independent spenders dominate Senate, gubernatorial campaigns

LANSING - A clear trend has emerged from the months leading up to the beginning of the traditional political season: Independent spenders are dominating the air war in Michigan's gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races. Incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has spent $1.2 million for television adver... read more

posted on 09/03/2014

Donors behind the statewide candidates

LANSING - Incumbent Republican candidates for key statewide offices all hold wide fundraising advantages over their Democratic challengers according to the most recent campaign filings. • Gov. Rick Snyder has raised more than twice as much Mark Schauer: $9.5 million, compared to $4.5 million. G... read more

posted on 08/15/2014

Legislative candidates have raised $20.3 million

LANSING -- Candidates for the Michigan Senate and House of Representatives have reported raising $20.3 million so far this election cycle, according to reports filed with the Michigan Bureau of Elections and compiled by the nonpartisan Michigan Campaign Finance network. That total is up by more tha... read more

posted on 07/28/2014

PAC fundraising on record pace

LANSING - Michigan's top 150 state political action committees (PACs) are setting a blistering fundraising pace in the 2014 election cycle. They have raised $39.55 million so far, which is 44.7 percent more than the top 150 state PACs had raised at this point in the 2012 election cycle. The state... read more

posted on 07/28/2014

MI candidates for U.S. House raised $7M in 2Q 2014

LANSING - Michigan candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives reported raising $7 million between April 1st and June 30th according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Self-funding by candidates with considerable personal wealth is playing a pivotal role in a handful of h... read more

posted on 07/16/2014

Independents dominate TV spending in statewide campaigns

LANSING - Independent spenders are dominating television advertising related to Michigan's principal statewide political campaigns. Through June 30th, the candidates for governor and United States senator account for less than $4 million out of a total of $17.9 million spent for TV in the campaigns.... read more

posted on 07/01/2014

Democracy Deformed

This essay first appeared in Dome Magazine. By Rich Robinson Let me pose a principle of democracy: Legislative representation should be in proportion to the vote. That is, the partisan makeup of a legislative body should reflect the partisan makeup of the vote in the election that selected the... read more

posted on 06/27/2014

Independent spenders dominating senatorial, gubernatorial campaigns

LANSING - Independent spenders are dominating television advertising related to Michigan's gubernatorial and U.S. Senate campaigns. Through the Memorial Day holiday, the candidates' campaign committees had spent just $2.9 million out of the total of $12.8 million spent for advertisements about the c... read more

posted on 05/27/2014

Where's the ethics platform?

By Rich Robinson This Commentary first appeared in Dome Magazine. It seems awfully early, but people I talk with are already tired of specious claims in political ads and big-footin' independent spenders whose finances are unknown, or Byzantine if they are reported. So let's think about som... read more

posted on 05/16/2014

Top PACs' fundraising up by 44%

LANSING - Fundraising by Michigan's top 150 state political action committees (PACs) is up by $9.9 million, or 44 percent, compared to the top 150 PACs at this point in the 2012 election cycle, according to data compiled by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network from reports filed with the Michigan B... read more

posted on 04/28/2014

Proxies dominate Q1 2014 Michigan TV campaigns

LANSING - Independent committees and organizations have dominated Michigan's statewide political campaigns through the first quarter of 2014. In the most visible aspect of the U.S. Senate and gubernatorial campaigns - television advertising - independent groups outspent candidates by a wide margin. ... read more

posted on 04/16/2014

McCuthcheon JFC: A new weapon of political warfare

By Rich Robinson What is the practical significance of the Supreme Court's decision in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission? A whole new class of weapon, the McCutcheon joint fundraising committee (JFC), has been created for the American political war of mutually assured destruction. J... read more

posted on 04/11/2014

McCutcheon ruling is another blow to democracy

The 5-4 decision released today by the Supreme Court of the United States in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission is one more step in the direction of monetizing American democracy. By abolishing aggregate limits on contributions individuals can make to federal candidates, PACs and political pa... read more

posted on 04/02/2014

Election Reform Conference - Friday, April 4th in Ann Arbor

Reclaim Our American Democracy (ROAD) invites you to a one-day conference on Friday, April 4th to explore the oversized role of money in politics, and what can be done about it. The conference features presentations by state and national experts on money in politics, workshops on progressive elec... read more

posted on 03/26/2014

Top state PACs have raised $22.2M so far this cycle

LANSING - Michigan's top 150 state political action committees have reported raising $22,229,875 so far this election cycle, through February 10th. That is more than the top 150 state PACs reported as of April 20th in the 2012 cycle. Turnaround Detroit, a SuperPAC that supported the candidacy of ... read more

posted on 02/19/2014

Lansing lobbyists spent $35.4M in 2013

LANSING - Reported spending by Michigan lobbyists totaled $35,431,637 in 2013 according to reports filed with the Michigan Department of State that were compiled by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. That amount is down by 4.6 percent compared to reported lobbying expenditures from 2012, and... read more

posted on 02/11/2014

Constitutional execs raised $7M in 2013

LANSING - Michigan's three constitutional executive officeholders raised $7 million in 2013, and they have raised $8.7 million so far this election cycle. Governor Rick Snyder raised $5,126,488 in 2013, and he has raised $6.1 million for the election cycle. His fund balance at year-end stood just... read more

posted on 02/03/2014

Legislators raised $6.8M in 2013

LANSING - Michigan's incumbent state legislators raised $6.8 million for their state campaign committees in 2013. That total is 52 percent higher than comparable figures from four years ago. Two factors contribute to the dramatic increase in fundraising this cycle. First, there were 29 term-limit... read more

posted on 02/03/2014

Congressional candidates raised $14.4M in 2013

LANSING - Michigan candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives raised $4.1 million in the 4th quarter of 2013, and their fundraising total for the year now stands at $14,355,000. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp leads all candidates for the Michigan congressional delegation. He ha... read more

posted on 02/03/2014

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