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
Use our infographic to examine the funding sources of every House candidate.
read more
posted on 02/06/2020
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
About 66 percent of the money that Michigan’s 148 state lawmakers have reported raising for their campaigns so far this year has come from political action committees (PACs), fundraising committees connected to businesses, unions, politicians and other interest groups that aim to influence what happens in Lansing. Only about 28 percent has come directly from individual donors.
read more
posted on 08/22/2019
The campaigns of term-limited lawmakers have repeatedly disclosed making large purchases during the lawmakers' final months in office with no explanation of where the items ended up once the lawmakers departed, according to a new investigation by MCFN and Fox 2 Detroit.
read more
posted on 08/16/2019
Michigan's top 150 political action committees raised more money over the first seven months of 2019 than they did over the same period before the record 2018 election, according to new campaign finance disclosures. Increased fundraising by committees connected to state lawmakers helped spur the high-dollar total.
read more
posted on 08/05/2019
Ten state lawmakers have already raised at least $100,000 across their campaign committees and personal political action committees, according to a review of new fundraising disclosures. The contributions have tended to follow power as the top fundraisers have been the leaders of the Michigan House and Michigan Senate.
read more
posted on 07/29/2019
Michigan officeholders’ quiet use of accounts and organizations that can accept unlimited amounts of money from secret donors has become widespread in Lansing. A new report by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network found links between a majority of the 148 lawmakers serving last year and accounts or organizations that could raise money from sources known to the lawmaker but unknown to the public. Where does the money end up? That can be a mystery as well.
read more
posted on 07/22/2019
In 2017, the U.S. House member from Michigan who raised the most money from the beginning of April through the end of June collected $360,342. Over the same period in 2019, three of Michigan's U.S. House members raised more than that. Two doubled the total, raising more than $730,000 each.
read more
posted on 07/16/2019
The Michigan Chamber of Commerce publicly weighed in on 28 bills or bill packages during the 2018 lame-duck session. The Legislature agreed with the Chamber on 24 of them. The Michigan Campaign Finance Network and Detroit Free Press columnist Nancy Kaffer partnered to examine the group's influence.
read more
posted on 05/30/2019
Michigan’s 2018 election was the most expensive in state history. As voters chose a new governor, picked candidates for every seat in the state Legislature and decided two competitive U.S. House races, money poured in from outside groups, and campaigns raised record amounts.
read more
posted on 05/09/2019
Over the first months of 2019, the 150 top political action committees in Michigan reported raising a combined total of $8.1 million, an increase over the same time period before the 2018 election. Michigan’s four caucus committees, which spend money on races for the state Legislature, were the primary forces behind the fundraising jump, disclosures show.
read more
posted on 04/30/2019
Ten state lawmakers raised more than $30,000 through their own political action committees over the first months of 2019, according to new campaign finance disclosures. Individual contributors gave as much as $40,000 to the leadership PACs, a growing form of fundraising in Michigan.
read more
posted on 04/30/2019
This spreadsheet lists the 150 political action committees (PACs) in Michigan that reported raising the most money from Jan. 1, 2019 through April 20, 2019. They had to file reports on their fundraising over that time period by April 25, 2019.
read more
posted on 04/30/2019
Elected state officeholders who served in 2018 disclosed having at least 774 fundraisers during the year, according to an analysis of hundreds of campaign finance disclosures. The most popular places to raise money were all within walking distance of the Capitol, and the wide majority of the most popular days for fundraisers were days the Legislature was also in session.
read more
posted on 04/25/2019
After the most expensive U.S. House races in Michigan history in 2018, the winners have already set out on a fast fundraising pace for 2020. On average, the 14 lawmakers’ campaigns brought in about $36,262 per day over the first three months of the year, according to the disclosures.
read more
posted on 04/16/2019
At $34.5 million, Michigan's 2018 races for the state Senate attracted more money than they ever had before. New contribution limits and increased competition helped drive up the price tag. But there was also more than $4 million in spending by groups that didn't disclose their donors but occasionally used images of snakes and swamp monsters to attack candidates.
read more
posted on 03/21/2019
A group of state lawmakers has been quietly working to do away with Michigan's 21-year-old ban on state-level campaign contributions by individuals with financial ties to the three Detroit casinos. While supporters of the ban said it was meant to prevent corruption in a highly regulated industry, the lawmakers that want to lift the ban believe it went too far.
read more
posted on 03/12/2019
Forty Michigan families and individuals spent a combined $56.5 million on political contributions from the start of 2017 through the end of 2018, according to a new analysis of state and national campaign finance disclosures. Fourteen families or individuals from Michigan spent more than $1 million each, the analysis also found.
read more
posted on 02/21/2019
Members of West Michigan's DeVos family combined to make about $11.3 million in political contributions from the start of 2017 to the end of 2018. The family spent more money on politics ahead of the 2018 election than any other Michigan family, according to an analysis of state and national fundraising disclosures by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network.
read more
posted on 02/21/2019
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s transition organization voluntarily released a list of inauguration sponsors. The list included 182 groups or individuals who fell into sponsorship categories ranging from $100,000 to $1,000. Some of the groups on the list previously supported Whitmer’s opponent in the election, and many of them will be working with state government on upcoming policy decisions.
read more
posted on 02/11/2019
Thanks in part to two extremely expensive races, the primary and general election contests for Michigan’s 14 seats in the U.S. House attracted about $80 million, according to candidate fundraising disclosures, independent-spending reports by groups and an analysis of TV advertising data from Kantar Media/CMAG. The 2018 total is double what the same races attracted in 2016: $40 million.
read more
posted on 01/22/2019
If giving large campaign checks to state lawmakers boosts a group’s influence in Lansing, there are some groups that stand to have a lot of power in the new legislative session. Five interest groups currently rank among the top 10 contributors to at least one-third of the 2019-2020 Michigan Legislature, according to campaign finance disclosures.
read more
posted on 01/15/2019
While candidates were responsible for the wide majority of positive campaign ads that ran last fall, outside groups, like nonprofits and super PACs, were behind the wide majority of negative campaign ads, according to a new analysis of more than 60,000 broadcast ad spots that ran in state races before the November election.
read more
posted on 01/09/2019
Political action committees connected to groups backing five bills to change environmental policies in lame duck have spent $3.01 million in support of current lawmakers and their caucuses over the last five years, according to an analysis of fundraising disclosures and meeting minutes.
read more
posted on 12/21/2018
Democrat Gretchen Whitmer and Republican Bill Schuette raised more than $23 million for their campaigns for governor. And disclosures show that employees of Michigan’s largest companies and some of the state’s largest interest groups helped foot the bill.
read more
posted on 12/12/2018
The business groups asking state lawmakers to weaken voter-initiated laws increasing the minimum wage and requiring paid sick leave have been heavy financial supporters of lawmakers’ campaigns.
read more
posted on 12/04/2018
Candidates for the Michigan House and Senate with the most financial support didn't win every race this year, but they won a lot of them. According to a new analysis, candidates with a financial advantage won 89.2 percent of the races for the Michigan Legislature. The 2018 percentage is very close to the percentage for 2016.
read more
posted on 11/20/2018
Michigan's 2018 elections have become the most expensive in state history. MCFN has now tracked about $291 million in the 2018 races, and the total is far from complete. The total will increase as more fundraising and spending disclosures become available in the next months. The 2018 elections break a record that's stood since 2012.
read more
posted on 11/13/2018
The Republican and Democratic candidates for governor, attorney general and secretary of state have been busy this fall describing what makes them different from their opponents. But these political rivals have some similarities when it comes to their financial supporters.
read more
posted on 11/06/2018
PACs, which are usually connected to interest groups, political causes or public officeholders, raise money to support candidates or to directly influence voters through advertisements or other campaign efforts. The fact that they’ve raised a record amount of money since the start of 2017 is another sign that Michigan’s 2018 election will be one of the most expensive in state history.
read more
posted on 10/31/2018
The four groups that raise money on behalf of the House Democrats, House Republicans, Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans have raised a record amount of money. Some of the funds have come from donors giving maximum contributions of $40,000 per year. Now, the groups are spending millions on key races for seats in the Legislature.
read more
posted on 10/26/2018
New fundraising disclosures show that Michigan's 2018 U.S. House races are attracting more money than they did before past elections. Among the 2018 races is a contest in the 8th Congressional District, which has already drawn about $16.5 million, a record amount for a U.S. House race in Michigan.
read more
posted on 10/16/2018
Michigan's 2018 races for the U.S. House are on pace to attract much more campaign money than those in recent years. Two of the 14 races are already shaping up to be the most expensive U.S. House contests Michigan has seen since lawmakers redrew congressional district lines in 2011.
read more
posted on 10/04/2018
Michigan's 2018 race for governor will likely be one of the most expensive in state history. As of this week, the race has attracted about $50 million, according to a new analysis from the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. The candidates' campaigns have raised most of the money, but outside groups are starting to play a larger role.
read more
posted on 09/07/2018
The Michigan Campaign Finance Network examined state fundraising disclosures, federal fundraising disclosures and reports that some groups file with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to determine which Michigan-connected political donors have been giving the most since the start of 2017.
read more
posted on 08/22/2018
This fall, Michigan voters will pick a new attorney general and secretary of state. They’ll also fill two seats on the state’s highest court. Candidates applying for the jobs have already raised about $5.4 million.
read more
posted on 08/22/2018
While there are limits on what donors can give directly to state officeholders' campaigns, those same officeholders can accept unlimited amounts of money through leadership PACs. Some of the state's highest ranking officials are receiving big contributions through their PACs and using the money to fund like-minded candidates. We track which donors have been contributing the most to lawmakers' PACs.
read more
posted on 08/14/2018
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
With an election that could reshape state government on the horizon, interest groups and officeholders are raising large amounts of money for political action committees, also known as PACs. According to MCFN's analysis, Michigan PACs are on a record fundraising pace with three months remaining before the general election.
read more
posted on 08/06/2018
Michigan's 2018 race for governor has already attracted about $42 million. It's a total that's been reached with more than a week remaining before the Aug. 7 primary election and with an entire general election campaign yet to waged.
read more
posted on 07/27/2018
According to new fundraising disclosures that were due on Sunday, campaigns for Michigan’s 14 seats in the U.S. House had already drawn $30 million as of June 30, 2018. That’s more than Michigan’s U.S. House races had attracted at the same point before the 2014 and 2016 elections.
read more
posted on 07/17/2018
The three major-party candidates in Michigan's 2018 U.S. Senate race combined to raise $20.5 million by the end of March, according to campaign finance disclosures. One of the candidates is an incumbent with a large fundraising lead. One is self-financing his campaign. And the third is receiving heavy support from some of Michigan's top donors.
read more
posted on 07/09/2018
A new joint investigation by Fox 2 Detroit and the Michigan Campaign Finance Network has found that members of the powerful Moroun family and companies run by the family spent more money than anyone else on races for the Detroit City Council last year. Much of the money moved through three Super PACs and wasn't easy to track until after the election.
read more
posted on 06/27/2018
When state lawmakers voted last week to repeal Michigan’s prevailing wage, the wide majority of them voted the way their fundraising reports suggested they would. The votes came after a petition-gathering campaign and a lengthy fight that involved some of the state's most active interest groups.
read more
posted on 06/15/2018
In Michigan, when legal fights over legislative redistricting go to the state's high court, justices often have to rule on cases in which their political benefactors have strong opinions. A 2018 case about a ballot proposal to institute an independent redistricting commission could be the latest chapter in a story that has a long history.
read more
posted on 06/08/2018
With all 148 seats in the state Legislature on the ballot in 2018, donors are investing heavily in the Republicans who could lead the House and Senate next year if the GOP maintains control. Meanwhile, Democratic candidates for leadership jobs have fallen well behind their GOP counterparts in PAC fundraising.
read more
posted on 05/22/2018
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
As of April 20 — 200 days before the general election — the top 150 political action committees in Michigan had collected $34.5 million, according to an analysis of new campaign finance disclosures. That total is a record for this point before a statewide election.
read more
posted on 05/04/2018
The four committees that raise money on behalf of the House Republicans, House Democrats, Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats reported having $10.0 million available as of April 20, according to new campaign finance disclosures. That total is a record, and it's millions of dollars above where they were at the same point in 2014.
read more
posted on 04/27/2018
The men and women who want to represent Michigan in the U.S. House have already raised about $22 million for their 2018 campaigns, according to new campaign finance disclosures. In most of the state's battleground districts, the candidates’ total fundraising hauls are higher so far in 2018 than they were at the same point in 2016.
read more
posted on 04/17/2018
Contributions from political action committees – also known as PACs – accounted for 54 percent of the total amount of money accepted by state lawmakers’ campaigns in 2017, according to a Spartan Newsroom analysis of Michigan campaign finance records. Even though 2017 was a non-election year, Michigan lawmakers raised nearly $8 million from all sources – individuals, parties, political action committees – to help them eventually run for re-election.
read more
posted on 04/02/2018
An estimated $1.7 million in political ads had aired on broadcast TV stations in Michigan as of Monday, March 26, according to an analysis of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filings and of Kantar Media/CMAG ad-tracking data. The total doesn’t include ads airing on cable TV. There have been many of those as well.
read more
posted on 03/29/2018
Michigan lawmakers and other state officials reported having 601 fundraisers during 2017, a significant increase compared with previous years, according to a review of campaign finance disclosures. Nearly half of the events took place in downtown Lansing within walking distance of the Capitol on days the Legislature was in session.
read more
posted on 03/26/2018
Leadership PACs are becoming a more powerful player in Michigan politics. It's a trend that gives donors the ability to make unlimited contributions to a wider array of elected officials and that gives lawmakers who can attract donors the ability to wield more influence.
read more
posted on 03/16/2018
Many of the men and women who sit on the boards that oversee Michigan’s public universities have made names for themselves in business or politics. Many also happen to be generous campaign donors.
read more
posted on 02/27/2018
The top 150 PACs in Michigan reported raising $24.3 million in 2017, a record amount for an off-year leading into a statewide election year. In 2018, voters will choose a new governor, a new attorney general, a new secretary of state and candidates to fill all 148 seats in the state Legislature.
read more
posted on 02/19/2018
According to new campaign finance disclosures, Michigan's U.S. House candidates have already collected about $14.7 million. Three candidates have individually raised more than $1 million each. Thirty candidates have raised more than $100,000 each.
read more
posted on 02/13/2018
The November election may be 10 months away, but some campaign donors have already made max contributions in support of their preferred candidates for governor. According to a review of fundraising disclosures, about 318 donors contributed the maximum amount allowed to at least one candidate for Michigan governor by the end of 2017.
read more
posted on 02/07/2018
If the early numbers are any indication, you can expect some expensive races for the Michigan Senate in 2018 with many involving current members of the Michigan House. Two primary races between well-funded Republican candidates have already attracted more than $400,000 in campaign cash, according to campaign finance disclosures.
read more
posted on 02/07/2018
The four main groups that raise money to elect Michigan lawmakers have more cash available at the start of 2018 than they’ve ever had at the start of an election year. And it’s not even close. The House Democratic Fund, the House Republican Campaign Committee, the Senate Democratic Fund and the Senate Republican Campaign Committee raise money on behalf of the four legislative caucuses.
read more
posted on 01/31/2018
In a city council race this fall, a Super PAC flexed its muscles. It formed on Oct. 4, 2017, about a month before the election. It went on to spend $32,823, supporting a candidate through digital advertisements and three rounds of mailings. The candidate won by 336 votes.
read more
posted on 12/15/2017
With the November 2018 election still about a year away, the 150 most active PACs in Michigan are on a record fundraising pace. They’ve reported raising $18.5 million this year through Oct 20, 2017.
read more
posted on 11/14/2017
The attorney general, the lieutenant governor, the leaders of the state House and state Senate and potential future leaders are among the Michigan officeholders who’ve seen the heaviest support from donors this year. Some of those donors’ individual contributions have reached as high as $75,000.
read more
posted on 11/07/2017
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is riding a wave of financial support into the final days of his race for a second term. Duggan’s campaign and Turnaround Detroit, a Super PAC that’s been running positive TV ads about Duggan, reported raising a combined $1.3 million from late August through Oct. 22.
read more
posted on 10/31/2017
Four groups that are consistently among the top campaign spenders in Michigan are sitting on a strikingly massive amount of money for this early in an election cycle. As of Oct. 20, 2017 — just over a year before the 2018 election — those four committees reported having a combined $6.48 million available in their accounts. That total is up millions of dollars compared to where they were at this point in past gubernatorial election cycles.
read more
posted on 10/31/2017
Candidates for Michigan governor combined to bring in $71,000 a day on average over the last three months. The primary election they’re collecting money for is still 10 months away, and their early fundraising efforts are out-pacing many of past candidates.
read more
posted on 10/26/2017
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
A representative who may run for the Senate and two candidates who could square off in one of Michigan’s most competitive House districts are receiving heavy support from political donors, according to new campaign finance disclosures.
read more
posted on 10/17/2017
Political action committees and executives tied to groups or businesses that have previously taken a stance on plans to change Michigan's auto insurance system have given at least $704,795 to fundraising accounts tied members of the House and Senate insurance committees over the last five years. About 63 percent of the money, $448,530, came from those traditionally siding with proposals backed by the auto insurance industry.
read more
posted on 10/02/2017
A bill that could weaken Michigan’s long-standing campaign contributions limits has received the approval of Gov. Rick Snyder. The Michigan Senate voted 23-12 for Senate Bill 335 on Thursday. On Tuesday, the House voted 62-45 in favor it.
read more
posted on 09/20/2017
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
The top 150 PACs in Michigan have combined to raise $12.2 million so far in 2017, according to an analysis of new campaign finance disclosures. The total, which includes dollars raised as of July 20, is up about 11 percent over the same measure at the same point in the 2015-2016 election cycle.
read more
posted on 08/09/2017
The top 15 fundraisers serving in state government have combined to attract more than $4.4 million in contributions over the first seven months of 2017. Most of the money has gone to officials’ candidate committees, which collect funds for their own campaigns for offices. But the officials are also raising money for PACs, which help fund other campaigns, nonprofit organizations and administrative accounts.
read more
posted on 08/03/2017
Six statewide campaigns seeking to change Michigan law by gathering petition signatures have already combined to raise more than $2.7 million. A majority of that money continues to come from just a handful of sources.
read more
posted on 08/01/2017
While they’re still a year away from collecting official votes for governor, a field of potential candidates in Michigan has already amassed more than $7.5 million in campaign cash. Six candidates officially running to be the state’s next governor and two potential candidates reported in fundraising disclosures due today that combined, they had $7.5 million sitting in accounts on July 20.
read more
posted on 07/25/2017
The main fundraising committees of the House Republicans, the House Democrats, the Senate Republicans and the Senate Democrats combined to raise $3.1 million in 2017 as of July 20, according to campaign finance disclosures due today. Over the last decade, the four committees had previously never combined to raise more than $3 million as of July 20 in the year before the election year.
read more
posted on 07/25/2017
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
Registered lobbyists have been frequent political donors in Michigan over the years, according to a new analysis of campaign finance disclosures. Since the start of 2012, five-and-a-half years ago, Michigan’s more than 1,300 registered lobbyists made $3.7 million in personal political contributions at the state level.
read more
posted on 07/18/2017
The average U.S. House member from Michigan raised $1.3 million for 2016’s election. With the 2018 version still 15 months away, some of the contenders are already on their way to that number. Over the weekend, candidates who’ve been raising money to run for the U.S. House next year had to turn in new fundraising disclosures.
read more
posted on 07/17/2017
Forty of Michigan's top campaign donors combined to give about $44 million in contributions at the state and federal levels last election cycle, according to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network's tracking. Eight families or individuals connected to Michigan gave more than $1 million each.
read more
posted on 06/19/2017
As state lawmakers weighed millions of dollars in new incentives for businesses bringing large development projects, some of those pushing hardest for the incentives opened their checkbooks to make political contributions.
read more
posted on 05/31/2017
If you’re a state lawmaker looking for a free meal, this week may be one of the premier weeks for you, according to the statistics. You’ll just have to head north.
read more
posted on 05/30/2017
With individual donations reaching as high as $100,000, political action committees tied to 25 top Michigan officeholders raised $799,522 over the first months of 2017. Traditionally, interest groups use PACs to raise money and then to make contributions to candidates they prefer. But state officeholders, seeking to advance their own influence within Lansing, also use them.
read more
posted on 05/11/2017
When it comes to changing Michigan law through ballot proposals, the early money appears to be on efforts to legalize marijuana. Two ballot committees focused on marijuana legalization have raised more money so far in 2017 than any other current ballot committee.
read more
posted on 05/11/2017
Michigan lawmakers who will decide whether to hand health insurance plans a victory this spring have received about $1 million in contributions from committees and executives connected to the plans. At stake is who will provide services for people with mental illnesses, developmental disabilities and substance use disorders and who will oversee the $2.6 billion in annual Medicaid dollars that are attached to those services.
read more
posted on 05/01/2017
The 2018 election cycle started with a boom for groups that tend to be the biggest spenders in races for the Michigan Legislature. The main fundraising committees of Senate Republicans, Senate Democrats, House Republicans and House Democrats combined to raise $2.10 million from Jan. 1, 2017, through April 20, 2017, according to disclosures due on Tuesday.
read more
posted on 05/01/2017
Dollar signs abound in a renewed debate this spring over when Michigan schools should be able to start their academic years. A bill that would lift the state’s current ban on school starting before Labor Day advanced out of a Senate committee in March. But the bill, Senate Bill 271, is facing major pushback from business groups.
read more
posted on 04/24/2017
With their eyes on 2018, Michigan’s 14 U.S. representatives reported raising $1.62 million over the first three months of 2017, according to campaign finance disclosures due over the weekend. Of that $1.62 million, $1.07 million, about 66 percent, came from political committees, which are usually political action committees (PACs) representing interest groups.
read more
posted on 04/19/2017
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 speaker of the Michigan House has ordered a review of the main fundraising committee for House Republicans after discovering the committee’s public reports differed from bank balances by about $100,000, according to newly obtained emails by MCFN and the Michigan Public Radio Network.
read more
posted on 03/31/2017
State lawmakers who served in the Legislature last year self-reported having 414 campaign fundraisers in 2016, according to MCFN’s review of hundreds of campaign finance disclosures. About 46 percent of the events, 192 fundraisers, took place in Lansing on days either the House or the Senate was scheduled to be in session.
read more
posted on 03/27/2017
One of the candidates for a university board position last year reported raising more money than the 11 other major party nominees combined, according to campaign finance disclosures. It's one example of the wide range of fundraising totals among candidates for university boards and the State Board of Education in 2016.
read more
posted on 02/27/2017
The fundraising totals of Michigan’s largest interest groups continue to trend upward with no end in sight. For the 2015-2016 election cycle, the top 150 political action committees (PACs) in Michigan combined to raise $48.5 million. That’s $7 million more than the top 150 PACs have raised in a two-year presidential election cycle before.
read more
posted on 02/15/2017
The 2016 fight for control of the Michigan House of Representatives is the most expensive in the state’s history, according to disclosures. Donors, political parties and outside groups poured at least $27.0 million into House races for 2016, according to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network’s tracking.
read more
posted on 02/10/2017
If money is power in politics, an association that represents beer and wine distributors may wield the most power in Michigan politics heading into the new legislative session. An analysis of lists of top donors for individual state lawmakers found that the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association appears more frequently on the lists than any other interest group
read more
posted on 02/08/2017
A fund tied to the husband of the House Insurance Committee’s new chairwoman received $80,000 last fall from a group that lobbies on behalf of insurance companies. The account then paid most of the money to a business a legislative staffer had filed paperwork to help form.
read more
posted on 02/02/2017
Over the last two years, members of the House Health Policy Committee — the panel that takes the first votes on health care proposals in the House — averaged raising more money than any other House committee with eight or more members who served throughout the two-year session.
read more
posted on 01/23/2017
Multiple political operatives said this week a candidate for Michigan governor in a competitive primary race in 2018 would likely need about $3 million dollars in funding to contend in the primary alone. Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, a Republican, and U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, a Democrat — all potential candidates — are already on their way to that figure. And former Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, has officially begun her fundraising efforts.
read more
posted on 01/06/2017
Most of the state senators who voted in lame duck for new tax incentives aimed at luring economic development projects had received campaign cash from the main groups pushing for the incentives. That includes bill sponsors and legislative leaders who received contributions in the six months leading up the Senate votes on Nov. 29.
read more
posted on 12/27/2016
The battle to be Macomb County’s public works commissioner — a job that will pay $130,034 in 2017 — cost at least $3.3 million, according to an analysis of campaign finance records.
read more
posted on 12/16/2016
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
Members of West Michigan’s powerful DeVos family have combined to make more than $14 million in political contributions in the last two years alone. As Betsy DeVos prepares to become President-elect Donald Trump’s education secretary, MCFN analyzed the family’s giving in Michigan, in other states and at the federal level.
read more
posted on 12/02/2016
The candidates with the most money won 91.8 percent of Michigan’s state House races this fall, according to currently available public disclosures and TV ad-tracking data. Out of 110 races for seats in the House next session, the candidates who appear to have attracted the most financial support won 101 of them.
read more
posted on 11/22/2016
Democrats and Republicans combined to spend more than $4.4 million on broadcast TV ads aimed at swaying state House races this fall, according to ad-tracking data and disclosures available through Tuesday evening, Nov. 8. After all of that spending, Michigan Republicans held the 63-seat majority they won two years ago.
read more
posted on 11/09/2016
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
With control of the Michigan House up for grabs, Democrats and Republicans have already poured more than $10 million into 15 districts that will ultimately decide which party wins.
read more
posted on 11/02/2016
The most active 150 political committees in Michigan have raised $43.19 million so far this cycle, a 24 percent increase over where the top 150 PACs were at the same point in the 2012 cycle. The total — $43.19 million — is the most the top 150 committees have raised through Oct. 20 in a two-year presidential cycle in the state’s history.
read more
posted on 10/28/2016
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
Some big players in Michigan politics contributed to two Super PACs that slammed a state senator running for Congress in the days before the Aug. 2 primary, according to campaign finance disclosures released over the weekend.
read more
posted on 10/17/2016
A race for the U.S. House in Northern Michigan and another in Southern Michigan are shaping up to be the state’s most expensive congressional battles of the 2016 cycle.
read more
posted on 10/17/2016
With the Nov. 8 election two months away, money is already flowing in the battle for control of the Michigan House. Two races have passed the $200,000 fundraising mark, and many more will in the next weeks. Among the big donors to Democrats have been the Operating Engineers and the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters. For Republicans, the DeVos family and Rep. Tom Leonard's PAC have written large checks. Read more and view an interactive graphic at the link below.
read more
posted on 09/07/2016
A bill that would limit local governments' ability to regulate plastic bags has set off a debate between business groups that have made some big campaign contributions over the years, including a few donations reported received on the date of a key committee hearing, and environmental groups that have made their own contributions, on a much smaller scale. Read our full story at the link below.
read more
posted on 08/30/2016
Michigan’s most active political action committees (PACs) continue to set a record fundraising pace for a presidential election cycle. The bump in fundraising is being driven by major interest groups, like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, increasing their activity and by the two House caucuses raising more than in past years. Read more by following the links below.
read more
posted on 08/16/2016
The candidate who had access to the most money won about 70 percent of the contested State House primary races last week according to campaign finance reports available as of Election Day, Aug. 2. But when primary races in which the winning nominee has little or no chance in the general election are dropped from consideration, the impact of fundraising becomes even more profound. Read our full story on candidate fundraising and election outcomes by following the link below.
read more
posted on 08/12/2016
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
.png)
.jpg)
