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

Political action committees connected to groups backing five bills to change environmental policies in lame duck have spent $3.01 million in support of current lawmakers and their caucuses over the last five years, according to an analysis of fundraising disclosures and meeting minutes. read more

posted on 12/21/2018

Democrat Gretchen Whitmer and Republican Bill Schuette raised more than $23 million for their campaigns for governor. And disclosures show that employees of Michigan’s largest companies and some of the state’s largest interest groups helped foot the bill. read more

posted on 12/12/2018

Compared to other states, Michigan would have a one-of-a-kind system for deciding who gets to enforce and administer campaign finance laws under bills advancing in the Legislature’s lame-duck session. The Michigan Campaign Finance Network examined the process of the 49 other states to see how the Michigan proposal compares. read more

posted on 12/10/2018

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. read more

posted on 12/10/2018

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. read more

posted on 12/04/2018

Introduced two days after the election in the lame duck session, Senate Bill 1176 would create a new law called the “Personal Privacy Protection Act.” The act would ban any government agency, state or local, from requiring nonprofit organizations to disclose information about their financial supporters. That includes nonprofit organizations involved in campaigns. read more

posted on 11/28/2018

Candidates for the Michigan House and Senate with the most financial support didn't win every race this year, but they won a lot of them. According to a new analysis, candidates with a financial advantage won 89.2 percent of the races for the Michigan Legislature. The 2018 percentage is very close to the percentage for 2016. read more

posted on 11/20/2018