Campaign Finance Reports Released: Gubernatorial General

Campaign finance reports filed on Friday showed that Governor Snyder had a significant financial advantage over his challenger Mark Schauer with $4.6 million cash on hand compared to Mr. Schauer’s $2.5 million. According to the Snyder campaign this cash difference is the largest in history. During the period leading up to the Friday filing deadline the Snyder campaign raised $3.3 million while the Schauer campaign raised $2.8 million.

The Schauer campaign has reserved $3.2 million in television space and the Democratic Governors Association has $6 million put into television ads as well. Officials from the Republican party responded saying that on top of Governor Snyder’s cash on hand he has also pledged over $5 million for advertising purposes.

Between January 1 and July 20,Mr. Snyder outspent Mr. Schauer $2.6 million to $1.4 million. The margin was even greater when looking at the entire election cycle with Snyder spending $6.2 million compared to Schauer’s $1.8 million.

posted by PAA Online , Friday, August 1, 2014 12:07 PM
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Senate Primary

In the 4^th Senate District, Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) is outspending incumbent Senator Virgil Smith (D-Detroit) by a $193,744 to $109,255 margin in the Democratic primary. Ms. Tlaib raised $120,145 between January 1 and July 20 leaving her with $28,752 cash on hand compared to Mr. Smith’s $79,643 raised and $21,620 cash on hand.

In the 37^th Senate District Representative Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City) has spent $235,108 well surpassing Republican primary opponent Representative Greg MacMaster’s (R-Kewadin) reported $36,318. Mr. Schmidt has also outraised Mr. MacMaster by a sizable margin, $213,521 to $43,420, in the race to replace Senator Howard Walker (R-Traverse City). While MacMaster has a lead in the polls, Mr. Schmidt has the cash on hand advantage with a $71,866 to $11,435 lead for the last two weeks of the race.

Senator Bert Johnson (D-Highland Park) raised $8,750 while spending $52,771 leaving him with $7,588 cash on hand in his race against John Olumba (I-Detroit), whose finances had not yet been reported, for the 2^nd Senate District.

In the 5^th Senate District race to replace term-limited Senate Minority Floor Leader Tupac Hunter (D-Detroit), Representative David Knezek (D-Dearborn Heights) leads the group in spending with $83,464. He has raised $108,619 leaving him with $25,154 on hand and $6,000 in debts and obligations. Representative David Nathan (D-Detroit) has $115 on hand after spending $33,534. The other two candidates’ reports, former Representative Shanelle Jackson and Representative Thomas Stallworth III (D-Detroit), were not available late Friday.

Representative Ellen Cogen Lipton (D-Huntington Woods) has raised the most money in the race for the 11^th Senate District with $150,250. Ms. Lipton has spent $131,356 leaving her with $18,894 on hand and $45,000 in debts and obligations. Representative Vicki Barnett (D-Farmington Hills) has raised $37,610 this cycle and spent $52,907 leaving her with $2,652 and $3,933 in debts and obligations. The incumbent in the race Senator Vincent Gregory (D-Southfield) trails in both fundraising and spending with $29,330 and $19,585 respectively. This has left Mr. Gregory with $11,469 cash on hand and $4,000 in debts and obligations.

Matt Maddock has made a splash in the 15^th Senate District Republican primary by raising $62,298 and spending $54,253. He has $7,807 cash on hand and another $25,000 in debts and obligations. Although his numbers have garnered some deserved respect, Senator Mike Kowall (R-White Lake Township) has a distinct advantage after raising $131,475 and spending $101,631 in this cycle. He is left with $80,635 cash on hand.

Senator Mike Green (R-Mayville) has a significant monetary lead over his primary opponent Representative Kevin Daley (R-Lum). Mr. Green has outspent Mr. Daley $86,273 to $45,939 and outraised him $102,415 to $56,845 this reporting period. This leaves Senator Green with a $153,176 to $10,905 advantage in cash on hand.

posted by PAA Online , 12:07 PM
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Senate General

In the 7^th Senate District, Representative Dian Slavens (D-Canton Township) reported $100,619 cash on hand well above the incumbent in the District Senator Patrick Colbeck (R-Canton Twp) who only reported $28,223 cash on hand. Ms. Slavens raised $113,902 in the period and spent $13,097. Mr. Colbeck raised $42,371 and spent $37,485 during the period.

Representative Sean McCann (D-Kalamazoo) reported $208,580 cash on hand after raising $142,937 while only spending $50,847 this cycle. His projected general election opponent Representative Margret O’Brien (R-Portage) raised $85,432, spent $49,059, and has $120,298 cash on hand.

In the 32^nd Senate District Representative Stacy Erwin Oakes (D-Saginaw) raised $206,826 for this reporting period, with about half coming from her House Campaign Fund, and spent $87,789 leaving her with $119,027 cash on hand heading into the primary race. Her general election opponent former Representative Ken Horn (R-Frankenmuth) has spent $93,784 this period after raising $189,895. He has $96,111 cash on hand and no primary opponent.

In the 13^th Senate District Democratic primary Ryan Fishman has spent $124,631 this cycle leaving him with $74,277 cash on hand and $65,847 in debts and obligations. His primary opponent, Cyndi Peltonen, has spent $6,893 leaving her with $351 cash on hand. In the Republican primary former Representative Chuck Moss is leading the field in cash on hand with $88,879 after raising $178,966 for the cycle and spending $90,086 during the cycle as well as having $65,000 in debts and obligations. Former Representative Andrew “Rocky” Raczkowski has raised $69,960 and spent $58,000 leaving him with $11,923 on hand and $30,000 in debts and obligations. Marty Knollenberg, another former representative, has raised $50,035 and spent $46,576. Mr. Knollenberg has $3,428 in cash on hand and $10,000 in debts. Ethan Baker who is also running in the Republican primary has spent $17,277 of his $20,275 with $5,500 in debt.

Former Representative Doug Spade has raised $45,850 during this period and spent $18,578 leaving him with $55,801 on hand. Mr. Spade is set for a general election showdown with Representative Dale Zorn (R-Ida) who has spent $41,877 and raised $71,124 resulting in $74,215 cash on hand and has no debts.

In the 25^th Senate District Senator Phil Pavlov spent $62,120 between January and July bringing his total for the cycle to $166,058 with $174,617 raised, $58,900 of that coming this period, and $144,089 cash on hand. His challenger, Representative Terry Brown (D-Pigeon), has $25,692 on hand after spending $16,578 and raising $42,461.

posted by PAA Online , 12:06 PM
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House Primary

In the 107^th House District Representative Frank Foster (R-Petoskey) raised $154,796 in this period and spent $137,138 leaving him with $68,890 heading into the primary. Mr. Foster’s primary opponent, Lee Chatfield, has raised $73,575 while spending $58,078, leaving him with $15,497 cash on hand coming into the primary.

Representative Klint Kesto (R-Commerce Township) has raised $94,091 this period well ahead of his primary opponent Deb O’Hagan who brought in $22,610. Mr. Kesto has also spent more money, $75,600 compared to $14,913, and has more cash on hand currently by a $68,207 to $7,697 margin. Ms. O’Hagan also has $4,591 in debts.

Representative Bradford Jacobsen (R-Oxford) is in a good financial situation in his primary race against John Reilly. Representative Jacobsen has brought his total raised up to $128,474 with $47,257 raised for this period. He has spent $30,984 bringing his total spent to $98,838 leaving him with $71,920 on hand. Mr. Reilly has raised $19,525 and spent $13,130 leaving him with $6,396 on hand.

In the Republican primary for the 79^th District Representative Al Pscholka (R-Stevensville) has raised $72,785 this period bringing his cycle total up to $135,072. Mr. Pscholka has $100,119 on hand heading into the primary election. His opponent Cindy Duran has raised $7,360 for the period with $15,630 total for the cycle and is left with $4,967 on hand.

In the crowded 73^rd House District Republican primary to replace Representative Greg MacGregor (R-Cannon Twp) who is running for the Senate, Chris Afendoulis holds a large monetary advantage over his six opponents. Mr. Afendoulis spent $73,376 and still has $21,158 on hand. John Decker reported $4,518 after spending $26,158 for the period. Frank Pfaff Jr. spent $20,896 and reported $5,379 on hand. Robert “RJ” Regan reported $6,226 on hand after spending $15,967. Tom Norton reported spending $10,480 with $11,485 cash on hand.

In the 98^th House District, which includes all of Midland County and is currently represented by Representative Jim Stamas, Gary Glenn has outspent Karl Ieuter by a $101,223 to $92,256 margin; however, Mr. Ieuter has only a slight cash on hand advantage of $45,659 to $45,087. Mr. Glenn has put $60,299 of his own money into the race.

The Republican primary in Grand Traverse County (the 104^th House District) has two distinct spending levels between the multiple candidates so far. The top level consists of Larry Inman at $33,143, Karen Renny at $22,682, Jamie Callahan with $22,141 and Isaiah Wunsch at $19,329. In the second level Beau Vore has spent $11,681, Ken Hinton $10,085, and Robert Hentschel with $4,142. Matt Lundy has spent the least in the race at only $949 this year.

posted by PAA Online , 12:05 PM
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House General

Representative Pat Somerville (R-New Boston) outraised his general election opponent, Brownstown Township Supervisor, Andy Linko $51,532 to $35,905 in the race for the 23^rd House District. For the cycle so far, Mr. Somerville has raised $118,279 and spent $71,959 spending $26,547 of that this period. He has $83,206 cash on hand compared to Mr. Linko who has spent $10,192 leaving him with $25,757 on hand.

In the 41^st House District challenger Mary Kerwin has outraised incumbent Representative Martin Howrylak (R-Troy) $29,431 to $25,741. After spending $3,605 Ms. Kerwin has $28,077 on hand and owes $24,500. Mr. Howrlyak spent $7,202 this period leaving him with $54,509 on hand and owing $37,274.

In her race to keep the 52^nd House District Representative Gretchen Driskell (D-Saline) has raised $129,311 this cycle with $35,505 coming this period. She has spent $20,845 during the period leaving her with $99,907 on hand. Ms. Driskell’s general election opponent John Hochstetler filed for a reporting waiver.

In the 71^st House District Representative Theresa Abed (D-Grand Ledge) has raised $45,390 for this period while spending $13,182. Ms. Abed has a clear cash on hand advantage over her opponent Tom Barrett with a $79,500 to $33,001 gap. Mr. Barrett has raised $29,760 for the period, $54,932 for the cycle, while spending $20,158 this period.

Representative Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) has raised $65,837 this period totaling $130,512 for the cycle in her bid to keep the 76^th District. Ms. Brinks spent $21,171 this period leaving her with $103,174 in cash on hand. In the Republican primary race Donijo DeJonge has raised $32,123 while spending $34,546 leaving her with $6,281 cash on hand. Her primary opponent Keith Allard has raised $30,954, spent $9,173. Mr. Allard is left with $25,303 in cash on hand.

Representative Collene Lamonte (D-Montague) has outraised her expected general election opponent, former Representative Holly Hughes in this reporting period. Ms. Lamonte raised $79,615 compared to Ms. Hughes $78,575; however, Ms. Hughes has an advantage for the cycle with $149,626 compared to $144,787. Ms. Lamonte spent $22,616 this reporting cycle leaving her with $114,688 cash on hand. Ms. Hughes has spent $54,878 this period and has $94,460 on hand. She also has $316,639 in debt with most of that coming as loans from herself.

posted by PAA Online , 12:04 PM
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Early Warning Work Group a Good Start, Walker Says

About 50 people attended a work group meeting hosted by Senator Howard Walker (R-Traverse City). The work group is aimed at finding a way to reduce state intervention in districts that are running deficits as well as to raise the number of schools who find their way out of deficits.

Mr. Walker is hoping to continue the meetings and said that most of the discussion at the meeting was focused on improving communication between the Department of Treasury and schools. He also said that earlier reporting was something discussed, as early detection is the key to helping these districts. A main focus of the work group is ensuring that the new bills do not create unnecessary administrative work.

The work group was started after Senator Roger Kahn (R-Saginaw Township) asked for specific ideas on improvements to Senate Bill 951, SB 952, SB 954, SB 955, SB 957, and SB 978.

posted by PAA Online , 11:54 AM
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Quote of the Week

“The moment of decision has arrived and that moment will begin Tuesday of next week.”

- Governor William Milliken, 1982

posted by PAA Online , 11:53 AM
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PAAdvisory Briefs

Dillard Drops Democratic Bid for AG Spot, Will Run for SOS Nomination

This morning, Detroit attorney Godfrey Dillard told reporters he has decided to run for the Democratic nomination for Secretary of State facing Ruth Johnson instead of running for the Attorney General nomination in November. Assuming no other major changes at the convention in late August, the Democratic ticket should be set with former U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer as the candidate for governor; Oakland County Clerk Lisa for lieutenant governor; former federal prosecutor Mark Totten for attorney general; and Godfrey Dillard for secretary of state.

Snyder, Canadian Official Name Bridge Authority

Governor Snyder and Canadian Transport Minister Lisa Raitt named the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority on Wednesday. The Governor named Michael Hayes, Brigit Klohs, and Matt Rizik to the new authority. Although the U.S. government has yet to approve the building of a toll plaza, Mr. Snyder and Ms. Raitt said that would not stop construction of the international crossing.

Richard Bernstein to Announce Bid for Supreme Court

Richard Bernstein, son of Sam Bernstein and lawyer at his father’s law firm, is expected to announce his bid for the Democratic nomination for the Michigan Supreme Court. Mr. Bernstein is expected to make announcements in Lansing, Flint, and Detroit. Democrats have reported all year that he would seek the nomination to replace retiring Justice Michael Cavanagh.

posted by PAA Online , 11:52 AM
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