WASHINGTON, D.C. — Millions of dollars have poured into Michigan’s four competitive Democratic U.S. House primaries over the home stretch as outside groups try to propel their preferred candidates over the finish line on Aug. 4.
The money is mostly backing candidates who have pitched themselves as more moderate options against progressive challengers, though even those U.S. House hopefuls are seeing some cavalry arrive.
“Outside money is certainly playing an outsized role in Michigan’s congressional and Senate primary races, as it has in past elections,” said Marty Jordan, an associate professor of political science at Michigan State University.
“Of course, having the most money doesn’t automatically translate into a win, as we saw in 2016 when Hillary Clinton’s campaign spent nearly twice as much as Donald Trump’s,” he added. “In an era where voters spend so much time online, social media influence and vibes may ultimately matter more than traditional cold, hard cash numbers.”
The dollar amounts from non-candidate political organizations flowing into Michigan’s House races are not close to the Democratic U.S. Senate primary, which has seen more than $60 million spent on efforts like television ads, mailers and text blasts to reach voters in the race’s waning days. But funders in the more localized races hope that their eleventh-hour giving — still big chunks of change totaling more than $10 million — can sway or mobilize voters.
Groups are allowed to support or oppose candidates, but they cannot coordinate with any campaigns.
The most expensive race by far has been in the Lansing-based 7th Congressional District, where upstart community organizer Will Lawrence has surged lately in a three-person contest. Outside groups, as of Friday morning, had spent $6.4 million in the 7th District since July 1.
That sum could end up surpassing all the combined pre-primary fundraising of candidates Lawrence, of Lansing, former U.S. Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam, of Livingston County’s Genoa Township, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, of Lansing.
The Detroit-based 13th District, where progressive state Rep. Donovan McKinney is looking to unseat incumbent U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, is the next most expensive at $3.3 million and counting. Thanedar mostly self-funds his campaigns from personal wealth, but a pro-cryptocurrency group has tried to boost the two-term lawmaker.
There has also been a spending surge in the Macomb County-based 10th District, which projects to be one of the country’s most competitive in November. Outside groups are helping former assistant prosecutor Christina Hines of Warren close the money gap with Eric Chung of Sterling Heights, a well-funded former Commerce Department attorney with a more national donor base.
And in the safely blue, Oakland County-based 11th District, state Sen. Jeremy Moss of Bloomfield saw major support come in from a pro-artificial intelligence group as he looks to fend off retired Ford Motor Co. engineer Don Ufford of Bloomfield Township.
7th: Maasdam boosted by VoteVets, Lawrence by mystery org
The biggest outside spending group in any of Michigan’s U.S. House primaries has been VoteVets, a political organization dedicated to promoting candidates who served in the U.S. military. The group has spent more than $1.6 million to back Maasdam in the past month and more than $2 million since he launched his campaign.
Maasdam has also benefited from millions spent against his two primary rivals.
An organization called Michigan Values PAC has deployed $1.3 million this cycle to oppose Brink’s candidacy. The group, which uses the same media buyer as VoteVets and accused Brink of being Trump’s hand-picked ambassador, has tapered its spending as some prominent Democrats have coalesced around Maasdam.
Two groups linked to more established or centrist movements in the Democratic Party have entered the fight in recent weeks in a bid to beat Lawrence. Crush MAGA PAC, which has targeted progressive candidates, has spent $900,000 to oppose the former leader of the Sunrise Movement environmental advocacy group.
Rolling Sea Action Fund, a group that promotes the interests of the Black community, spent more than $1 million in July to oppose Lawrence amid the resurfacing of past social media and podcast comments he made criticizing Democratic leaders, including Black Democratic leaders whom he accused of defanging White liberals.
Lawrence has said he regrets his word choice, but his comments were enough for the Congressional Black Caucus PAC to call on Democratic voters to condemn his candidacy.
The biggest pro-Lawrence spender has been a mysterious organization called Michigan Sunrise PAC. The newly formed group shares part of the “sunrise” moniker of Lawrence’s progressive environmental group but may be connected to Republicans as they seek what many view as a more favorable general election matchup.
The group has spent about $500,000 to boost Lawrence and $1.2 million to oppose Maasdam.
“District 7 will be one of the most competitive races in the country,” said MSU’s Jordan.
“Given its slight Republican lean, outside groups are spending heavily to determine which Democratic candidate has the best chance against Congressman Barrett,” he added, referencing the incumbent U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte.
“In fact, some of that money in District 7 is being spent strategically by mystery PACs and suspected GOP fronts on candidates they would prefer to face in the general election.”
13th: Thanedar backed by crypto funds, McKinney by group linked to ‘The Squad’
Thanedar’s biggest backer in his Detroit race has been an organization called Protect Progress, which backs candidates who support the growth of cryptocurrency and oppose ones deemed hostile to the digital currency. The group has spent about $1.7 million to support Thanedar and another $270,000 to oppose McKinney.
The Detroit lawmaker has an extensive personal history with crypto, including investing millions of his self-funded campaign dollars into a cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund that has at times yielded big payoffs.
McKinney, meanwhile, has gotten support from a political action group often credited with helping launch the careers of “The Squad” in Congress. The nickname refers to a group of progressives in the U.S. House, including Rashida Tlaib of Detroit, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
The funding group, called Justice Democrats PAC, has reported spending close to $900,000 in combined funds to support McKinney and oppose Thanedar.
“We’re literally, truly running a grassroots campaign, not taking any corporate PAC money, any you know, any AIPAC money, crypto money. A lot of it comes from the people. Our average donation is $30,” McKinney said of his campaign in a recent interview.
“(Thanedar) does have a lot of money. I can’t outraise him, I can’t outspend him, but what we can do is out-organize him, out-hustle him, and out-love him, and let people know that we’re willing to show up for them and fight for them,” he added.
Jordan said the race is seeing a surge in funding now because the primary in the heavily Democratic district will likely coast to victory in November.
10th: Hines gets pro-women boost to close gap with Chung
Significantly less money has flowed into Michigan’s 10th District race — which features Hines, Chung and former Pontiac Mayor Tim Greimel — but the funds that have arrived could be impactful in the smaller-dollar contest that covers southern Macomb County, and Rochester and Rochester Hills in Oakland County.
Hines was supported by $500,000 in outside spending in July from an organization called Pro-Choice Majority Action, an offshoot of the group Elect Democratic Women. The former assistant prosecutor is the only woman in the race.
Her campaign, as of July 15, had raised the least total money of the three candidates in the race and spent close to all of its reserves as Hines seeks the Democratic nomination.
Chung has raised the most and also has seen a surge in outside support from Equality PAC, the political arm of the Congressional LGBTQ Equality Caucus. The group helps LGBTQ candidates get elected to federal office. Equality PAC has spent about $150,000 to support Chung since July 1.
No outside money has come in to aid Greimel, and there has not been a single dollar of opposition spending in the competitive but polite contest.
11th: Ufford condemns AI group backing Moss
In the neighboring 11th District, the former Ford engineer Ufford has cried foul over Moss’ recent backing by Think Big, a pro-AI group linked to the founders of OpenAI and Palantir Technologies.
“These are the people who are working to eliminate our jobs and force data centers on every community in MI,” Moss said in a social media post. “They know they can buy Jeremy. Bring it on, billionaires.”
“I will not take checks from the same people who are working to eliminate jobs for the middle class. If the billionaires want to spend against me because of that, then bring it on,” he added in a press release.
The organization has spent about $300,000 to support Moss in recent days. Moss’ campaign did not comment directly on that spending but did defend his record as a lawmaker: “Jeremy has stood up to the gun lobby, MAGA extremists, greedy corporations and he will do the same in Congress,” spokesperson Sophie Norton told The Detroit News.
Norton also stood up for Moss’ record on data centers. She pointed to Democrats’ state-level work on the issue in Lansing, including a 2024 effort that looked to attract data centers while also maintaining high environmental standards.
“He voted for what were at the time the strongest regulations on data centers in the entire country,” Norton said. “They worked with environmental groups to make sure that they protected water and made sure that us, as consumers, don’t pay the price for the lift on the electrical grid.”
“Data centers are new technology … And we have to make sure that we keep evolving policy with this evolving technology, and above all, make sure that there’s local control,” she added.
Moss, who is gay, has also been supported by $100,000 from Equality PAC since July 1.
Ufford, who worked at the U.S. Department of Commerce before launching his campaign, has gotten $40,000 worth of backing from Integrity PAC. The group supports the campaigns of former federal workers who stepped down during the Trump administration.
Beyond that, Ufford has gotten no outside help in his fight against Moss.
gschwab@detroitnews.com
Staff Writers Summer Ballentine and Beth LeBlanc contributed.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Outside money floods Lansing-area House race. Who’s spending?
Reporting by Grant Schwab, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Grant Schwab, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
