• Republican John James, Democrat Jocelyn Benson and Independent Mike Duggan raising most from donors in Michigan governor’s race
  • GOP hopeful Mike Cox, the former state attorney general, has most cash on hand after loaning his campaign another $2 million
  • Candidates are competing to replace term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The Michigan primary is more than nine months away

LANSING — Some Michigan gubernatorial candidates are beginning to establish significant fundraising leads over their competition in next year’s primary elections, according to new campaign finance disclosures filed Monday. 

Among the biggest fundraisers were Republican U.S. Rep. John James, Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who is running for governor as an independent. 

But it was former Attorney General Mike Cox, a Republican, whose campaign ended the period with the most cash on hand after he poured another $2 million of his own money into the race during the period ending Oct. 20. 

Campaign fundraising can rise and fall over time, though in the age of digital fundraising, most successful candidates maintain a consistent donor base. While large hauls can indicate the viability of a campaign, they don’t guarantee victory and don’t always reflect grassroots enthusiasm. 

Michigan’s Aug. 4 primary election is more than nine months away, and candidates will still need to collect at least 15,000 valid signatures from Michigan voters to make the ballot, including at least 100 from at least half of the state’s 13 congressional districts. 

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Here is a look at the state of the fundraising race as candidates compete to replace term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer:

The leaders

Cox, a Livonia attorney and former prosecutor who went into private practice after serving as Michigan attorney general through 2020, ended the latest reporting period with more than $3.8 million in the bank. Most of that – about $3.5 million – is his own money, including a $2 million loan this period. 

But beyond self-financing, Cox only brought in about $150,000 from donors in the latest period, accumulating the fewest donations of any of the major candidates in the race.

“We’re building the team, we’re doing the work, we have the resources — and we’re going to win this campaign,” Cox said in a statement.

James, who lives in Shelby Township and has served in Congress since 2023, raised about $1.4 million over the last three months, the most earned contributions of any gubernatorial candidate. More than half of that total came from donations of $1,000 or more. James reported taking in at least 40 checks of $8,325, the legal limit for an individual donor. 

His contributors included a bevy of major Republicans donors: Charles Secchia, son of former Michigan GOP chair and donor Pete Secchia; Alfred Fisher, a scion of the Fisher automotive fortune and Ross Perot Hr., the son of the late presidential candidate.

In a statement, James touted favorable polling and his fundraising numbers as evidence he’s the most suitable candidate for the GOP primary. 

“I’m honored by and grateful to the thousands who have already stepped up to fuel this campaign,” James said, arguing he was in “the best position to beat both lifelong Democrats in the general.”

James’ campaign also touted contributions to Mission Michigan, a super PAC supporting his candidacy. Recent contributions include $500,000 from Thomas Peterffy, a billionaire businessman who lives in Florida. 

The super PAC previously reported a combined $5 million in contributions from Dan and Pam DeVos and ended the latest period with $5.1 million in the bank. 

Duggan, who left the Democratic Party to run as an independent, raised nearly $1.2 million in the latest period. That added to the $3.2 million he’d raised in the first six months of the year, largely by leveraging larger donors. He received 39 max donations of $8,325. 

Duggan’s campaign said 88% of his recent donations came from Michigan residents. That included Jared Fleicher, president of Dan Gilbert-owned real estate juggernaut Bedrock, who gave $5,000, and Marjory Epstein, chairman of Vesco Oil. He also received $43,250 from the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters, a union and major backer of Democratic candidates.

Campaign spokesperson Andrea Bitely called Duggan’s fundraising haul “a clear sign of growing support for his independent run.”

Benson, a Democrat Democrat who currently serves as secretary of state, also raised about $1.2 million. 

She received the $83,250 — the maximum allowed from a political action committee — from the Michigan Laborers’ political league, a union group. Her campaign also got contributions totaling more than $41,000 from six employees of Insight, a hospital company based in Flint, along with a $8,325 check from former Michigan governor Jim Blanchard, a fellow Democrat.

Benson campaign manager Nikki Goldschein called her fundraising total a “historic haul” that “shows that Michiganders are ready for Jocelyn Benson to be the next governor.”

The Pack

Hiccups with the state’s beleaguered campaign finance system saw some campaigns’ totals being incorrectly reported throughout Monday. Other reports were revised by the state to correct automated errors. 

One newer entrant to the Republican primary, pastor Ralph Rebandt, has again poured hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money into his quest to win the nomination. 

Of the $927,000 Rebandt reported raising since joining the race in September, $795,000 came from his own pocket, according to state records. Rebandt came in last place in his party’s five-candidate primary in 2022.

Other candidates raised considerably less.

State Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, a Porter Township Republican who was one of the first to announce his candidacy, took in a little less than $425,000 for the filing period, a sharp decrease from nearly $2.3 million he reported raising in the first six months of his campaign.

Of that, $26,000 came from a leadership PAC Nesbitt controls called A Better Michigan.

Tom Leonard, a former Republican House Speaker from DeWitt, raised about $290,000 and had roughly $710,000 cash on hand at the close of the reporting period. He has loaned his campaign about $105,000.  

Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, a Democrat, raised just about $297,000 while spending about $380,000, leaving him with $468,000 in the bank. Swanson also briefly paused campaigning for a week in the aftermath of the mass shooting at a Mormon Temple in Grand Blanc. The temple is in Genesee County, where Swanson serves as sheriff.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist of Detroit raised $358,000 during the quarter and spent $293,000, leaving him with about $378,000 left to spend.

Republican candidate Karla Wagner, who is also coordinating the AxeMiTax ballot proposal, raised only a few thousand dollars. Fellow GOP hopeful Anthony Hudson had not yet reported totals as of Monday evening. 

Michigan has a public funding program for gubernatorial candidates, but accepting the money limits how much you can raise for the primary — most recently $2 million in 2022. In recent decades, candidates have fundraised so prolifically the program has not been widely utilized. 

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