LANSING — Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald is dominating fundraising in the race for state attorney general, having raised more money than all the other Democratic and Republican candidates combined, reports filed ahead of the Monday, Oct. 27 filing deadline show.
The two parties are expected to select their candidates for attorney general at state party conventions next year. Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, can’t run again because of term limits. The candidates selected will then compete in the November 2026 election.
McDonald, a Democrat who announced her candidacy in June, has raised just over $840,000 in donations and has also transferred $100,000 from her Oakland County prosecutor fund to her statewide campaign, records show. She has reported spending just under $320,000, leaving her with about $626,000 in cash on hand.
Combined fundraising by the four other Democratic and Republican candidates for attorney general who had filed reports by the morning of Oct. 28 totaled less than $700,000, including candidate loans.
Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, another Democrat seeking the nomination who announced his candidacy in May, has raised just over $300,000, with just over $23,000 of that amount coming from a political action committee Savit founded, Pursuit of Justice, records show. Savit reported spending just over $140,000, leaving him with about $160,000 in the bank.
Former U.S. Attorney Mark Totten, who was the first Democrat to enter the race, in April, has raised close to $161,000 in donations, including $17,500 from the United Food and Commercial Workers union PAC, and has loaned his campaign close to $90,000 in additional funds, records show. Totten has reported spending just over $50,000, leaving him with about $200,000 in cash.
Longtime Detroit public defender William Noakes, who announced his campaign at the end of September as the fourth Democrat seeking the nomination, did not have a report showing on the Michigan Secretary of State website as of the morning of Oct. 28.
On the Republican side, Birmingham attorney Kevin Kijewski, who announced his candidacy in April, has raised close to $13,000 in donations and has loaned his campaign nearly $68,000, records show. Kijewski reported spending just over $54,000, leaving him with just over $26,000 to spend.
The other Republican candidate, Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd, who joined the race in July, reported raising $46,000 in donations and transferring another $15,000 from his county prosecutor campaign fund. Lloyd reported spending just under $15,000, leaving him with a little over $46,000 in the bank, but he also reported $30,000 in campaign debt in the form of consulting bills that have not yet been paid.
Kalamazoo attorney Matt DePerno, who was the Republican candidate for attorney general in 2022, formed a campaign committee in August but has not announced he is running again and had not filed a report as of the morning of Oct. 28.
McDonald’s reports show 34 donors who gave the maximum $8,325 permitted under state law. Notable donors include former Michigan Gov. James Blanchard, who gave $2,500; automobile scion Edsel Ford II and his wife Cynthia, who each gave $8,325; Detroit Pistons vice-chair Arn Tellem and his wife Nancy, who is chair of the New York-based media company, Eko, who each gave $8,325; and Ilitch Enterprises, LLC president Denise Ilitch, who donated $5,000 and also contributed about $3,300 in catering costs for a campaign fundraiser.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Oakland Co. Prosecutor Karen McDonald is top fundraiser among candidates for Michigan AG
Reporting by Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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