- US Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow pulled ahead of Democratic competition in fundraising at the beginning of 2026
- Republican Mike Rogers maintains the largest cash on hand of any candidate in the race
- Challengers in some Michigan congressional districts reported strong fundraising
LANSING — A surge in small dollar donations propelled state Sen. Mallory McMorrow past her rivals in the fundraising race for Michigan’s highly competitive Democratic US Senate primary, according to new filings with the Federal Election Commission.
McMorrow raised more than $3 million in the first three months of the year, compared to about $2.3 million from former Wayne County health director Abdul El-Sayed and $2 million from US Rep. Haley Stevens.
For the quarter, McMorrow topped fellow Democrats in multiple respects — raising more through small donations, more from donors with Michigan addresses and from a wider swath of the state, according to her FEC report. She also ended the period with slightly more cash on hand than Stevens, who had led the primary field.
More than half of McMorrow’s donations were unitemized, about $1.6 million worth, meaning they were from donors who had given her campaign less than $200 in total for the election cycle. Her campaign said she had received contributions from more than 70,000 people since the start of the year.
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The breakdown shows growth from McMorrow in her support from grassroots donors, who made up about 45% of her fundraising the previous three months.
“This is absolutely huge,” McMorrow said in a video announcing the fundraising total. “We are doing something incredible together that nobody thought we could.”
McMorrow built a national fundraising presence as a state legislator after a 2022 viral floor speech in the Michigan Capitol raised her profile nationwide and in Michigan, prompting a deluge of donations from throughout the country.
El-Sayed had about $596,000 in small unitemized donations, and Stevens $271,000.
Because the smaller donations don’t trigger FEC reporting requirements, campaigns don’t have to reveal how much of that support came from within Michigan.
McMorrow also disclosed new contributions from some significant donors, including from scions of two media empires. James Murdoch, a son of Rupert Murdoch who sits on the board of Fox News, donated $3,500, as did his wife. J. Sebastian Scripps, who remains a major shareholder in the E.W. Scripps news company, also gave McMorrow $3, 500. Six employees of Anthropic, the developer of AI chatbot Claude, also cut her $3,500 checks.
Money alone doesn’t decide elections, and polling suggests the Democratic candidates are locked in a tight race headed toward the Aug. 4 primary. US Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat, is not seeking reelection to the post.
Rogers maintains cash edge
Republican Mike Rogers — who has been essentially uncontested in his own primary — maintained the largest cash on hand of any of the candidates, ending the quarter with about $4.2 million in the bank. He raised about $2.2 million over the quarter.
“The future of our state and country are riding on this race, and we are fighting every day to earn working families’ support,” spokesperson Alyssa Brouillet said in a statement. His campaign said he raised money from donors in all of Michigan’s 83 counties.
Rogers also picked up a significant media industry backer in KC Crain, owner of Crain Communications, who gave him $7,000. He also received checks of similar size from major GOP donors Roger Penske and Suzanne DeVos.
Rogers also has a super PAC devoted to supporting him, the Great Lakes Conservatives Fund, that can accept unlimited contributions. Penske also gave $250,000 to that account in March.
The super PAC has more than $6.2 million in the bank, underscoring the likelihood that outside groups will outspend candidate campaigns in the race, a trend seen in Michigan’s last three US Senate elections.
Overall spending in Michigan’s US Senate races topped $200 million in both 2020 and 2024, when Rogers narrowly lost to Sen. Elissa Slotkin. Outside groups such as the Senate Leadership Fund and Sentinel Action Fund have already pledged to spend significant money to help Rogers win this year.
Rogers challenger flounders
While Democratic candidates have been forced to spend significant campaign cash in their bruising primary, Rogers has not faced a similar challenge.
Former state party co-chair Bernadette Smith, who is attempting to make the ballot and challenge Rogers in the GOP primary, raised just $39,000 in the last quarter but spent $46,000, according to her federal disclosure.
It appears the bulk of her campaign’s spending came from the cost of hosting a fundraiser that brought in little money.
Smith paid $5,554 to a company owned by Michael Flynn, a former national security advisor under President Donald Trump who headlined her Jan. 19 fundraiser at Noto’s Old World Italian Dining in Grand Rapids.
Another guest, conservative attorney Thomas Renz, was paid $4,000 as a campaign consultant three days before the fundraiser, according to Smith’s filing. The campaign also paid nearly $3,000 for related airfare and lodging.
Smith had asked supporters to pay $20 each to attend, according to an invitation, but Flynn had suggested attendees pay more.
“You want to scratch another couple zeroes on those checks, be my guest,” Flynn said in remarks at the fundraiser, according to a video posted by Smith’s campaign. “Because I know one thing, this gal knows how to stretch a dollar.”
US House races heat up
The 7th Congressional District surrounding Lansing is home to Michigan’s sole toss-up US House race, according to Cook Political Report ratings.
Incumbent GOP Rep. Tom Barrett, first elected two years ago, raised nearly $1.3 million for the quarter and ended it with $2.8 million in the bank.
In the competitive three-day Democratic primary, former Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam led in fundraising, taking in more than $700,000, but at least 80% of his donations originated from outside Michigan.
It’s a similar story with former ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, who raised much of her $608,000 from outside the state. Progressive activists Will Lawrence brought in only $216,000, but nearly half of that was small-dollar contributions from donors within or near the congressional district.
In Michigan’s 4th Congressional District, which surrounds Kalamazoo and Cook rates as leaning Republican, Democratic state Sen. Sean McCann outraised GOP Rep. Bill Huizenga for the quarter as he looks to unseat the eight-term House member.
McCann raised about $1 million in the first three months of 2026. Huizenga brought in $635,000 but ended the period with nearly twice as much cash on hand as McCann.
In the Grand Rapids-area 3rd Congressional District, longtime weathercaster Terri DeBoer reported raising $243,000 in less than a month after announcing her campaign to challenge incumbent Democratic Rep. Hillary Scholten.
DeBoer’s disclosure report showed a litany of influential west Michigan GOP donors coalescing around her campaign, including the DeVos family, Dan Hibma, J.C. Huizenda and former state party chair Ron Weiser.
Scholten raised about $400,000 for the quarter and had $1.2 million in the bank.
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