Michigan’s legislative races attracted more than $18 million in 2019. Three-fourths came from PACs and $10,000+ Donors
By SIMON D. SCHUSTER
Michigan Campaign Finance Network
LANSING (Feb. 7, 2020) — In 2019, 56% of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' funding came from small donors giving $200 or less. Among all the Democratic candidates it's 24%. Small donors contributing $200 or less also made up about 16% of President Donald Trump's financial support as of October, totaling nearly $97 million.
Those races have the benefit of exorbitant national attention. In Lansing, the contrast could not be more stark. In Michigan's legislature small donations contributed just 6% of the $18.3 million raised, about $1 million.
Political action committees (PACs) and large donors once again dominated the Michigan legislature’s fundraising activities this past year. They represented 76% of the money raised by candidates, their associated PACs and caucuses according to data analyzed by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network.
For individual House candidates facing an election in 2020 the composition of their funding varied wildly. Click here to read the full report and use an interactive graphic to explore the sources of funding for both incumbents and challengers.
