Elissa Slotkin is dominating fundraising efforts in US Senate race

In the race for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat next year, U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Lansing, continues to build an enormous fundraising advantage over her competitors from both parties, having raised more than $8 million as of Sept. 30 and sitting on more than $5 million left for the campaign.

Her next closest competitor from a fundraising standpoint is Detroit actor Hill Harper, who in campaign finance filings submitted to the Federal Election Commission ahead of this weekend's deadline reported raising a little more than $1 million as of Sept. 30 and much of that — more than $460,000 — coming out of his own pocket in the form of loans or contributions made to his own campaign.

Harper, who joined the race against Slotkin for the Democratic nomination to the seat being vacated by U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., in July had about $418,000 left after expenses.

Slotkin also had a sizable financial advantage over Republicans vying for the nomination to succeed Stabenow, including former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, though the former House Intelligence Committee chairman and former FBI agent had far less time to fundraise, having jumped into the race in September just a few weeks before the end of the reporting period.

Rogers reported raising about $824,000 and had most of that, some $794,000, left in the bank at the end of the reporting period. Like Slotkin, he had no self-financed loans or contributions to his campaign.

During the three-month period that ended Sept. 30, Slotkin had raised nearly $3 million of her $8 million total. All of the money raised by Harper and Rogers was raised in the three-month period.

It's unsurprising that Slotkin, a former intelligence officer and former acting assistant Defense Department secretary, owns such a lead in the fundraising race, given that she has been in the race for many more months than the others and she already had strong ties with donors nationally who have been supporting her since she first ran for the U.S. House in 2018. But such a large campaign war chest could give her a sizable advantage in terms of spreading her message statewide ahead of next August's Democratic primary.

Here are the fundraising totals reported as of Sept. 30 for other candidates who have filed to run along with the remaining cash on hand after expenses for the period in parentheses. The list doesn't include former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, who is running as a Republican, because he didn't formally enter the race until after Sept. 30, or any candidate that didn't report any funds being raised.

Democrats

• Dearborn businessman Nasser Beydoun: $225,056 ($103,206)

• State Board of Education President Pamela Pugh: $90,639 ($9,275)

• Ann Arbor lawyer Zack Burns: $29,073 ($4,661)

• Former state Rep. Leslie Love, D-Detroit: $18,160 ($15,099)

Republicans

• Laingsburg businessman Michael Hoover: $204,634 ($160,720)

• State Board of Education member Nikki Snyder: $146,099 ($113,294)

• St. Joseph physician Sherry O'Donnell: $22,735 ($10,958)

• Wayne County lawyer Alexandria Taylor: $12,096 ($1,582)

• Houghton businessman J.D. Wilson: $4,846 ($969)

Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story did not include the most recent fundraising period for Pamela Pugh.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Elissa Slotkin adds to big fundraising edge in US Senate race