Slotkin, Rogers raise millions in Michigan U.S. Senate race. See who’s donating

• Democrat Elissa Slotkin and Republican Mike Rogers are outraising opponents by more than ten-fold a month before the U.S. Senate primary
• Both Slotkin and Rogers have received maximum contributions from billionaire donors active in politics
• A deluge of spending from outside groups seeking to sway the competitive race is expected after the Aug. 6 primary

LANSING — As Michigan’s U.S. Senate primary enters its final month, the financial gulf has widened between candidates in both major party primaries.

Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Holly and Republican former congressman Mike Rogers are widely seen as the leading candidates in their respective primaries and have raised more than 10 times as much as their opponents, according to new campaign finance reports filed Monday.

The general election is anticipated to be a close race to replace retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing. Slotkin reportedly told donors last week she “is in a dead heat,” with Rogers, according to internal polling.

Disclosure reports filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission comprise fundraising from April through the end of June. 

They’re not the final reports candidates will file before the Aug. 6 primary, but they offer the clearest picture yet of each campaign’s financial trajectory heading toward the election, with voting already well underway via absentee ballots. 

Fundraising alone doesn’t decide elections, but large sums generally allow candidates to spread their message to more voters through paid advertising and other efforts. 

Here’s what the new reports show:

Slotkin, Rogers take in millions

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin raised more than $6.5 million over the last three months, bringing the Democrat’s total fundraising to nearly $22.6 million for her Senate campaign, well ahead of any other candidate in the race.

Slotkin received itemized donations from roughly 8,800 donors, of which about 4,000 donors from within Michigan totalling $1.1 million. Nearly $1.8 million in donations were not itemized, meaning they fell under the $200 limit that forces campaigns to report donor information, including names and addresses.

Elissa Slotkin reports raising nearly $6.5 million in the last three months. Here's where that money came from: https://t.co/VwZ1zUafZ2 pic.twitter.com/pcgRGoct2p

— Simon D. Schuster (@Simon_Schuster) July 15, 2024

Republican Mike Rogers raised a little more than $2 million in the same period from roughly 1,400 donors, a little more than half of which came from Michigan. About $420,000 in donations were smaller and unitemized.

Rogers is entering the final weeks of the primary with about $2.5 million cash on hand, while Slotkin has nearly $9.6 million.

It was the largest donors who made the largest impact: Slotkin had 250 donors meet the $3,300-per-election individual contribution limit. Donors are able to give up to $6,600 combined for both the primary and general elections, and those who did accounted for more than $1 million of the money she raised.

Slotkin received large contributions from donors outside Michigan such as billionaire philanthropists Melinda Gates and Andrea Soros; LinkedIn co-founder Allen Blue and Salman Al-Rashid, the American son of a Saudi Arabian billionaire and prolific Democratic donor. A noted New Mexican glass sculptor, Larry Bell, gave Slotkin $350.

Contributors giving at the legal limit similarly made up more than a quarter of all the money in Rogers’ most recent fundraising.

He received contributions from North Carolina Republican philanthropist Jay Faison along with the son of former presidential candidate Ross Perot in Texas and billionaire William E. Ford in New York, who sits on the board of TikTok owner ByteDance.

MI Senate candidate Mike Rogers raised $2 million in the last three months. Here's a state-by-state breakdown: https://t.co/qZmPHrRrBj

(Rogers also has a super PAC supporting him that has raised/spent millions.) pic.twitter.com/97QLyJ4MSK

— Simon D. Schuster (@Simon_Schuster) July 16, 2024

A separate super PAC backing Rogers, the Great Lakes Conservative Fund, received more than $2.7 million in the same period, $2 million of which came from Stephen Schwarzman, the billionaire CEO and co-founder of private equity giant Blackstone Group.

"We will continue our sophisticated voter education effort so voters know Mike has the support of Donald Trump and will make our country safer,” GLCF president Jason McBride said in a statement. 

Meanwhile Matt Brest, a managing director at Blackstone, gave Slotkin’s campaign $3,300 in May.

Super PACs have no contribution limits for donors and are technically independent groups that aren’t allowed to coordinate with the candidate they support, but in practice often look to public guides on candidate websites to learn which voters to target with a given message.

Protect Freedom PAC, which is affiliated with Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and endorsed Republican candidate Justin Amash, reported spending more than $1.1 million on advertising opposing Rogers in May.

Other candidates trail

In the Republican primary, Rogers is facing businessman Sandy Pensler, physician Sherry O’Donnell and Amash, a former congressman. 

The new reports show Pensler loaned his campaign another $1.9 million, bringing his self-funding total to nearly $5 million. He raised less than $10,000 from individual donors.  

Pensler’s money has primarily been spent on getting on the ballot and to run advertising, leaving him with about $1 million in reserves heading into the final pre-primary month of his campaign.

Related:

• Trump ‘warrior’ Mike Rogers takes flak in Michigan GOP primary for U.S. Senate
• Elissa Slotkin winning over Senate donors. Her challenge: Win over Black voters
• Who’s running for U.S. Senate in Michigan: Field set in race to replace Stabenow

Amash, a libertarian-leaning Republican from west Michigan, raised just $184,000 in the last reporting period and $663,000 in total, though he has received more than $430,000 in support from a super PAC called Take Back Your Liberty.

Sherry O’Donnell, a physician from west Michigan, has raised and spent a little over $300,000 in her pursuit of the Republican nomination and about $127,000 over the last three months. She also put up $88,000 of her own money during the course of her campaign. 

Actor Hill Harper is Slotkin’s sole opponent in the Democratic contest and has consistently trailed her in fundraising. He reported raising slightly under $390,000 in contributions from roughly 500 itemized contributors who gave $363 on average. Nearly $100,000 came from small, unitemized donations.

Heading into the primaries final weeks, Harper had about $200,000 left in the bank. He has also lacked the big-dollar donors that have propelled Slotkin’s fundraising, netting just 10 contributions at the legal limit in the last reporting period, and only six donations earmarked to be spent after the primary, 

By contrast, Slotkin had more than 330 donations earmarked for the general election.