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.
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posted on 08/22/2019
This is a spreadsheet that lists the 150 Michigan political action committees (PACs) that raised the most money from Jan. 1, 2019, through July 20, 2019. The numbers are based on campaign finance disclosures that were due to the state on July 25, 2019.
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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.
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posted on 07/29/2019
As new Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson pushes for better collection of $1.5 million in unpaid campaign finance reporting penalties, an analysis of the outstanding fees shows how difficult the effort for better enforcement under current state law may be. People behind some of the committees that potentially owe the most say there's no way their committees could pay.
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posted on 06/17/2019
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.
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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.
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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.
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posted on 04/30/2019
Michigan's top 150 PACs collected more than $97 million over 2017 and 2018, according to campaign finance disclosures. This documents ranks the 150 largest PACs in Michigan over 2017 and 2018.
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posted on 02/08/2019
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.
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posted on 01/15/2019
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.
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posted on 12/04/2018
Michigan's 2018 race for governor will be one of the most expensive in state history. Much of the money is coming from super PACs and nonprofit organizations that are working outside of the candidates' campaigns. Later this week, the candidates and involved PACs will have to file new disclosures with the state about their involvement.
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posted on 10/22/2018
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.
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posted on 08/14/2018
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.
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posted on 08/06/2018
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.
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posted on 05/22/2018
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.
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posted on 05/04/2018
Less than eight months after Gov. Rick Snyder signed a law establishing new standards for how closely candidates can work with “independent” spenders looking to sway voters, multiple PACs with connections to Lt. Gov. Brian Calley have bought ad time to boost his campaign for governor.
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posted on 04/20/2018
Democrats across Michigan will meet inside Detroit’s Cobo Center on Sunday. Their official duty will be to endorse party candidates for attorney general, secretary of state and Michigan Supreme Court. However, political insiders say the event could also be a bellwether for a possible power shift within a changing Democratic Party.
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posted on 04/12/2018
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.
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posted on 04/02/2018
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.
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posted on 02/19/2018
It could be the next battle in the struggle between powerful pro-business groups and powerful pro-labor groups. This one has an added wrinkle: The labor groups with the most to lose have a record of financially supporting some Republicans.
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posted on 12/08/2017
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.
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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.
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posted on 11/07/2017
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.
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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.
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posted on 10/02/2017
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.
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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.
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posted on 08/03/2017
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.
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posted on 07/18/2017
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.
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posted on 05/11/2017
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.
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posted on 02/15/2017
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.
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posted on 10/28/2016
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.
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posted on 08/16/2016
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.
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posted on 07/29/2016
