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

Michigan’s 2018 race for the Supreme Court was defined by what it lacked: It did not see large, under-the-radar spending by groups acting outside of the candidates’ campaigns. That type of spending has been a staple of Supreme Court races in the state for nearly two decades. read more

posted on 04/11/2019

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. read more

posted on 04/11/2019

As lobbyists for the casino industry increased their spending in Lansing, state lawmakers considered significant changes to Michigan's gaming laws. In the last four months alone, there have late-night votes on a bill to ease regulations covering casinos, vetoes by the governor and undisclosed trips to New Orleans for a gaming conference. read more

posted on 04/04/2019

Michigan's 2018 races for the state House attracted about $27.6 million, according to MCFN's analysis. It was a record total that was achieved despite the fact the races shared 2018 ballots with expensive campaigns for the state Senate and governor. The most expensive individual 2018 House race cost about $1.5 million, according to the analysis. read more

posted on 03/28/2019

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

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. read more

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. read more

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. read more

posted on 03/11/2019

For years, party-connected organizations in Michigan have used legal loopholes to take millions of dollars from undisclosed sources to fund TV ads and mailers that benefit candidates in competitive races, according to a joint investigation by The Detroit News and the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. The strategy continued in 2018. read more

posted on 03/07/2019

Registered lobbyists disclosed buying at least $1,000 in food and drink for 27 different state lawmakers in 2018, according to an analysis of new disclosures. Among the four lawmakers who received the most free food and drink were the incoming speaker of the House and the incoming chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. read more

posted on 02/28/2019

As state lawmakers sent nearly 400 bills to then-Gov. Rick Snyder’s desk in the closing weeks of the year, lobbyists upped their efforts in Lansing to influence policy decisions, helping to make 2018 a record year for lobbyist spending, according to state disclosures. Overall, lobbyists reported spending $40.3 million in 2018. read more

posted on 02/27/2019

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

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. read more

posted on 02/08/2019

Michigan considered wide-ranging ballot proposal campaigns in 2017 and 2018, covering topics like redistricting, marijuana and wage requirements. According to an analysis, the wide majority of the money the campaigns and their opponents raised came from nonprofits that didn't have to report their own donors. read more

posted on 01/31/2019

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. read more

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. 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