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.
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posted on 01/17/2020
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
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.
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posted on 05/09/2019
Democrat Debbie Stabenow won re-election to the U.S. Senate in a race that attracted about $40 million overall, according to an analysis of independent spending reports and candidate fundraising disclosures. The total may seem like a large one, but it isn't when compared to other competitive U.S. Senate contests in the year 2018.
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posted on 04/11/2019
Michigan’s 2018 race for governor attracted about $93.4 million, and it spurred record spending by groups that can accept unlimited contributions while operating outside of the candidates’ campaigns. Both outcomes point to larger trends: more money in races; and more money coming from spenders that are allegedly “independent” of the candidates.
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posted on 03/11/2019
Michigan's 2018 race for attorney general was the closest contest at the top of the ballot and it attracted a record amount of money for an attorney general contest in Michigan. Likewise, it also saw a record amount of spending by groups acting outside of the candidates' campaigns.
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posted on 03/11/2019
Michigan's 2018 race for secretary of state attracted $3.6 million, according to campaign finance disclosures. About 26 percent of the money came from a national group that spent heavily to benefit Democratic candidate Jocelyn Benson. Michigan previously hadn't seen such heavy spending by an out-of-state group in a race for secretary of state.
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posted on 03/11/2019
Over 2017 and 2018, the state's largest 150 political action committees smashed their past fundraising record for a two-year election cycle. The PACs combined to raise $97 million, which is up 42 percent over the previous high total. Super PACs and PACs connected to individual officeholders had a lot to do with why the 2017-2018 total broke the record.
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posted on 02/08/2019
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
Ten political action committees (PACs) combined to spend $17.1 million on Michigan’s U.S. House elections last year, according to a new review of campaign finance disclosures. The 10 PACs' spending amounts to about 20 percent of the $80 million the races attracted overall.
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posted on 01/24/2019
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.
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posted on 01/22/2019
When it comes to the general election race for Michigan governor, direct spending by PACs, super PACs, nonprofits and other political groups dwarfed spending by the candidates' campaigns. The numbers point to a greater trend in campaign finance, and they aren't final yet. The disparity will likely grow as more disclosures become available.
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posted on 12/10/2018
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.
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posted on 11/13/2018
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.
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posted on 10/31/2018
New campaign finance disclosures show that Michigan's candidates for governor raised more than $6 million over the last two months. But outside groups, including a handful of super PACs, are pouring millions more into the race as Election Day nears. When you include spending in the primary, the 2018 race for governor has drawn at least $75 million.
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posted on 10/26/2018
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
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.
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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.
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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.
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posted on 09/07/2018
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.
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posted on 08/06/2018
Political action committees, super PACs and nonprofit organizations that want to sway Michiganders' votes for governor have already spent about $8.9 million, according to a new analysis from the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. That number will likely rise in the final 12 days before the Aug. 7 primary.
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posted on 07/26/2018
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.
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posted on 06/27/2018
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
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
This fall, mayoral elections in three of Michigan’s largest cities saw at least some involvement from outside groups. In two of the cities, the groups apparently avoided disclosing their donors and showed up in the final weeks before the election, providing little time for their targets to respond.
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posted on 01/02/2018
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.
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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.
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posted on 11/14/2017
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.
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posted on 10/31/2017
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.
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posted on 09/20/2017
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
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.
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posted on 04/05/2017
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.
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posted on 02/10/2017
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.
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posted on 12/16/2016
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.
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posted on 10/17/2016
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s early September TV ad blast in Michigan amounted to an estimated $654,962 in ads across the state. With the election just under two months away, he's not the only candidate hitting the airwaves. The campaign of a candidate in the 7th Congressional District has already spent $370,000 on broadcast TV ads, and more than $1 million in ad time has been ordered in the 1st District. Read more by following the link below.
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posted on 09/14/2016
Genesee County voters got to see the power of a single big donor this summer. An attorney who says he wanted to “put his money where his mouth was” gave at least $200,000 to a Super PAC, funding a vicious campaign to try to unseat Genesee County’s long-time sheriff in the Democratic primary. The attorney is Glen Lenhoff, who’s practiced law in Genesee County for 35 years but currently lives in Oakland County. Read more about the Super PAC New Sheriff In Town at the link below.
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posted on 08/31/2016
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
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