• Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed more than doubled primary rival Haley Stevens’ fundraising over the last three months 
  • Stevens has had close to $30 million in outside spending to boost her campaign, dwarfing support for El-Sayed
  • Candidates in all federal races were required to disclose donors and spending this week ahead of the Aug. 4 primary

LANSING — Progressive candidates in key Michigan Democratic primaries reported strong fundraising hauls in new disclosures, underscoring the momentum some left-flank candidates have gained in the final weeks of those races.

In Michigan’s high-stakes US Senate race, former Wayne County health director Abdul El-Sayed more than doubled the fundraising total of US Rep. Haley Stevens, his Democratic primary rival. 

And in the 7th Congressional District, community organizer Will Lawrence outraised former Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam, although both were outraised by former Ukraine Ambassador Bridget Brink. 

But in both races, super PACs have spent far more money than the candidates, blotting out whatever advantages the progressive upstarts may have earned from their own donors. 

In disclosures due Wednesday, congressional candidates were required to report the money they raised between April 1 and June 30, offering insight into who is funding their campaigns with absentee voting already underway ahead of the Aug. 4 primary. 

Here’s what the disclosures show:

El-Sayed’s big haul

In a primary that pits progressives against the establishment wing of the Democratic Party, El-Sayed pulled ahead in nearly every financial metric:

  • He raised nearly $4.6 million in the period, compared to $2.1 million for Stevens.
  • He collected $1.2 million from donors who’ve given him less than $200; Stevens got about $227,000 from small-dollar donors.
  • He raised about $987,000 from Michigan donors who gave $200 or more, compared to $376,000 for Stevens.

The new federal filings suggest Stevens “is showing major signs of weakness as her grassroot support lags,” El-Sayed’s campaign claimed in a statement, noting he received almost twice as many disclosed donations from Michiganders and is the top fundraiser on Democrats’ digital fundraising platform, ActBlue. 

But Stevens “continues to build incredible momentum,” countered her campaign manager, Sam Barrett, touting recent endorsements from retiring US Sen. Gary Peters, who she is vying to replace, and former Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

“More and more people are joining this campaign because they know Haley has the experience, the record and the vision to deliver for working families,” Barrett said in a statement.

Republican Mike Rogers, who is not facing any primary competition, raised $2.9 million in the latest period. He has the most cash-on-hand of any candidate, about $5.7 million, compared to $3.4 million for Stevens and $2.7 million for El-Sayed. 

Super PAC factor

Candidate fundraising is increasingly insignificant in an era of loose campaign finance regulation, where outside organizations can eclipse a candidate’s own message on the airwaves and social media.

And that is where El-Sayed is far behind. Super PACs required to disclose their spending to the FEC have already reported spending nearly $43 million combined on the race, with $29 million of that total assisting Stevens.

Counting reservations for future airtime, more than $34 million had already been spent on ads to benefit Stevens as of July 1, according to Ad Impact, a national ad-tracking firm. 

By comparison, the El-Sayed and Stevens campaigns have raised a combined $23.2 million for the cycle. 

One of the two main super PACs backing Stevens, the United Democracy Project, has received the lion’s share of its funding from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC.

El-Sayed has kept up a drumbeat of criticism of Stevens for receiving support from the pro-Israel organization. The other super PAC, A Stronger Michigan, was formed in June and hasn’t had to report any donors.

By contrast, outside groups have spent just $2.6 million to support El-Sayed. Fighting For Michigan, a super PAC created to support him, reported raising about $2 million in the last quarter, and has spent about $1.8 million to date.

Rogers, the presumed GOP nominee, has benefited from nearly $10.9 million in spending promoting him throughout his uncontested primary.

Total spending in the primary has already exceeded $65 million, an extraordinary sum for this stage of the campaign season. By comparison, the 2020 US Senate election in Michigan, between John James and Gary Peters, costs more than $206 million in total. 

Those totals do not include any spending by dark money entities, which avoid disclosing their spending or donors by promoting candidates but not directly mentioning their elections.

A 7th District surprise

In a competitive Democratic primary for the 7th Congressional District anchored by Lansing and spanning parts of southern Michigan, Lawrence turned heads with a strong fundraising.

The community organizer and progressive outsider raised about $417,000, more than the $354,000 raised by Maasdam, a former Navy SEAL who this week picked up an endorsement from US Sen. Elissa Slotkin.

Maasdam, however, has benefited from nearly $930,000 in outside spending to support him, mostly from the veteran-centric liberal super PAC VoteVets. 

Lawrence has received about $489,000 in outside support from National Nurses United and a PAc representing the Working Families Party. A liberal super PAC called Crush MAGA has spent about $659,000 to attack him. 

Both Lawrence and Maasdam were outraised by Brink, the former ambassador to Ukraine, who pulled in $642,000. More than two-thirds of her fundraising came from donors outside Michigan, while a little over half did for Maasdam and about a third for Lawrence.

A new super PAC called Michigan Values, reported spending about $845,000 to attack Brink. Its sole funder is a Washington, DC-based organization called The Bench, which has a stated mission of supporting “the next generation of Democratic leaders.” It is backing Maasdam.

The winner of the Democratic primary will take on incumbent Republican Tom Barrett for the mid-Michigan seat, which the Cook Political Report calls one of 18 toss-ups in the country.

Barrett, of Charlotte, raised more than any of his would-be challengers, reporting $1.1 million for the period. 

More than $400,000 of that total came from political action committees representing companies like data center behemoth Oracle, the Koch organization, DTE and Consumers Energy and the DeVos-owned Alticor. 

But Barrett also raised more from donors giving less than $200, about $272,000 in total, than any of the Democratic candidates. 

More money

In Michigan’s 4th Congressional District, which surrounds Kalamazoo and Cook rates as leaning Republican, Democratic state Sen. Sean McCann and incumbent GOP Rep. Bill Huizenga remain neck-and-neck in fundraising. 

Huizenga raised $1 million, while McCann took in about $920,000. Huizenga was sitting on about $2.6 million at the end of the period, however, whereas McCann had accumulated just about $1.7 million.

As Democratic Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet looks to hold her 8th Congressional seat around the tri-cities and Flint, she’s built up a substantial fundraising base to do so. 

She raised close to $1.2 million in the past three months and ended the period with a $4.2 million war chest. GOP primary frontrunner Amir Hassan garnered about $273,000 and had about half that left in the bank as of June 30. 

In Detroit’s 13th Congressional District Democratic primary, state legislator Donavan McKinney is running to the left in an attempt to unseat self-funded incumbent US Rep. Shri Thanedar.

Thanedar has dumped more than $12 million of his own wealth into his congressional bids since 2022 but has begun collecting donations from others recently. He brought in about $515,000 in the latest reporting period. 

Nearly half of that total, about $226,000, was earmarked for Thanedar by AIPAC, according to his filing.

McKinney raised $257,000, about half as much as Thanedar. Roughly $100,000 of that came from small-donor donors who gave less than $200. Among larger donations, $81,000 came from Michiganders. 

Unlike the US Senate and 7th District races, it’s the progressive McKinney who is benefiting from outside spending as super PACs support his insurgent bid. 

The progressive Justice Democrats and Emgage, a liberal muslim group, have spent a combined $258,000 on ads attacking Thanedar, while Justice Democrats and National Nurses United have spent $694,000 on ads supporting McKinney. 

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