Perry Johnson leads pack as spending tops $50M in Michigan governor race

Michigan is on track for a historically expensive gubernatorial election
Candidates and outside groups have already spent more than $50 million on ads in the race
GOP businessman Perry Johnson’s self-funded campaign accounts for nearly half of that spending

Michigan gubernatorial candidates and outside groups have already spent more than $50 million on advertising this year — and self-funded businessman Perry Johnson accounts for nearly half of that, according to new data.

The figures, provided to Bridge Michigan by the AdImpact national tracking firm, suggest Michiganders are on pace to see far more than the $80 million spent on ads in the 2022 gubernatorial election.

By this time four years ago, when five Republicans competed to take on incumbent Democrat Gretchen Whitmer, candidates had spent just $11 million combined, according to AdImpact.

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The historically high level of spending so far this year is the latest evidence of “exponential” election increases, said Dave Dulio, a political science professor at Oakland University.

“It takes a lot to get people’s attention these days, and hold their attention, which I think poses different challenges than candidates faced years ago,” he said in an interview with Bridge.

The totals from AdImpact include spending on broadcast TV, cable and digital platforms, though with some lag in reporting on the latter two categories.

Johnson spends big

Most of this year’s spending has focused on Michigan’s four-way Republican gubernatorial primary.

Johnson, a wealthy businessman, is far and away the biggest spender in the race. He’s put more than $23.2 million of his own money into campaign advertisements, according to AdImpact totals.

Johnson said at his campaign launch in January he’s willing to spend “whatever it takes” to become Michigan’s next governor, and he has touted that he is not fundraising from individuals or special interests. His campaign website provides no links to donate to his campaign.

Johnson lacks the name recognition of his top rival in the GOP primary, US Rep. John James, who has twice run statewide campaigns and on Monday secured the endorsement of President Donald Trump.

He “doesn’t have that built-in sort of memory for folks, so he has to spend,” Dulio said of Johnson.

“He burst on the scene and was at like 20% in some polls, and he really hasn’t moved from there,” Dulio noted. “So I wonder if we might be able to conclude that’s what $20 million gets you?”

James, meanwhile, has spent about $1.5 million on advertising in the primary so far. But Mission Michigan, a super PAC created to support him, has spent more than $4 million.

A constellation of outside groups, including Michigan Families for Fair Care and Unrig Our Economy, have run ads critical of James, according to the AdImpact data. A Johnson-linked organization called Michigan First Priorities is responsible for nearly $1.2 million of the $1.5 million in anti-James spending.

Former Attorney General Mike Cox has benefited from about $3.6 million in ad spending. About $1.6 million has been spent to support state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, who ended his campaign Monday but will still appear on the ballot.

Spending in context

Johnson, who has never held elected office, has already spent tens of millions trying to win various races.

He spent $7.9 million on a 2022 gubernatorial campaign but failed to make the ballot amid a signature fraud scandal. He spent more than $29 million on a short-lived 2024 presidential campaign that ended before the Iowa caucuses.

Combined with his spending this year, Johnson will have spent more than $50 million before his first election as a political candidate — the Aug. 4 primary.

By comparison, Republican Dick DeVos spent more than $35 million of his personal fortune in the 2006 governor’s race, which he lost in the general election to Democrat Jennifer Granholm. Four years later, Republican Rick Snyder spent about $6 million of his own money in his successful campaign.

Duggan group spent before he bowed out

Another major chunk of ad spending in the 2026 Michigan gubernatorial race came from a so-called dark money account called Put Progress First that was set up in 2025 to support former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who ran as an independent.

The account served as a vehicle for Duggan’s supporters to promote their candidate without limits on donations or any bans on contributions from corporations. But Duggan dropped his campaign in May, citing flagging performance in both polls and fundraising.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat running against Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson for her party’s nomination, has so far spent about $156,000 on campaign ads. Swanson, for his part, has no recorded spending by AdImpact.

The spending totals also serve as a rare insight into state campaign spending in the first half of an election year. Michigan state campaign finance law has a nearly six-month gap between officials’ disclosures as candidates prepare for election.

The public won’t be able to learn about candidates’ election-year donors or see spending disclosures in detail until the pre-primary disclosure deadline July 24, just 10 days before the Aug. 4 primary and nearly a month after absentee ballots have been mailed.

Federal candidates, by contrast, must make a quarterly campaign finance filing in mid-April.