Slotkin, Rogers lead in fundraising for US Senate seat

WASHINGTON — Among the Democrats running to replace U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Lansing, continues to hold a strong and widely expected fundraising advantage over the rest of the field, which saw several candidates drop out in recent months.

That's according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission by deadline Wednesday, Jan. 31.

Democrats who've dropped include former State Rep. Leslie Love of Detroit, State Board of Education President Pamela Pugh (now running for U.S. House), and Ann Arbor lawyer Zack Burns.

Slotkin, a former assistant Defense Department secretary and intelligence officer, has been a prodigious fundraiser since first running for Congress in 2018, and continues to dominate those efforts in both parties, raising more than $2.8 million in the last three months of 2023 and bringing her total for the election to $11.7 million.

As of Dec. 31, Slotkin had more than $6 million in the bank and indicated she's spent far more than the other candidates to date — but also had more left than all of the rest in both parties combined.

If there was any surprise among the rest of the Democratic field, it was that Detroit actor Hill Harper, who many consider the top in-party threat to Slotkin, raised just over $303,000 over the last three months of 2023. That brought his total for the election to just over $1.3 million. He ended the year with about $154,000 in the bank.

Meanwhile, businessman Nasser Beydoun of Dearborn ended the year in a stronger financial position, having raised just over $457,000 in the three-month period for a campaign total to-date of just over $682,000. He ended the year with just over $349,000 in the bank — a far cry from Slotkin's total but a better figure than Harper's.

On the other side, former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, despite being considered a top-tier candidate for the Republican nomination, badly lags his main competitors in fundraising.

Craig's report indicated he'd raised just $60,581 as of the end of 2023 in a race that's guaranteed to cost millions.

Such an anemic report — given the fact that several of his Republican competitors are in far better shape financially — raises questions as to how strong and thorough a campaign Craig will be able to wage, especially with candidates required to submit 15,000 to 30,000 valid voter signatures in support of their candidacy to the Michigan Secretary of State's Office by April 23.

Two years ago, Craig — then also considered a top candidate — failed to submit enough valid signatures to make the GOP ballot for the governor's race.

And while fundraising is far from final in deciding the outcome of an election, it's hugely important in terms both of advertising and organizing ground efforts to contact and turn out voters. It also signals to potential contributors how viable a candidate is going to be.

Craig joined the now-crowded Republican field in October. Given his name recognition, he was considered a strong candidate. Recent polls have suggested Craig leads the race for the Republican nomination, which will be decided in the August primary.

But financially speaking, he's fallen well behind in what may be one of the most competitive open Senate races in the country.

In the last three months of 2023, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of Brighton — who has begun to consolidate much of the institutional and mainstream Republican support behind his campaign — added just over $1 million in contributions to his campaign coffers, bringing his total for the election to nearly $1.9 million. He ended the period with about $946,000 cash.

An independent political action committee, or Super PAC, called Great Lakes Conservatives Fund, or GLCF, has also already spent more $1 million on Rogers' behalf.

Meanwhile, Grosse Pointe businessman Sandy Pensler, a late entry to the Senate race in December, filed a report showing he'd raised just over $1 million, albeit by lending his campaign all but $1,300 of the total, and ended the year with virtually all of the cash still to be spent.

Former U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer, of Grand Rapids Township, who entered the race in November, reported raising $508,162 since joining the field, with about $107,000 either contributions or loans from himself — though with his personal wealth, he could likely provide more if needed. He ended the year with about $390,000 cash.

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But all those candidates are in far better financial shape at present than Craig, who reported having just $27,800 cash on-hand as of Dec. 31, less than even some of the lesser-known candidates.

For instance, State Board of Education member Nikki Snyder, of Dexter, raised nearly $30,000 during the three-month cycle for just over $199,000 total and had just over $93,000 left. Of that, her self-contributions and loans totaled about $37,000.

Michigan businessman Michael Hoover raised just $3,500 between October and December but, largely on the strength of the $190,000 loan he gave himself earlier, ended the year with about $213,000 in total receipts for his campaign and more than $124,000 still in the bank.

St. Joseph physician Sherry O'Donnell loaned her campaign $92,000 on her way to raising a total of about $135,000 during the three-month period — and $158,000 for the election to date — and had about $93,000 left in the bank as of year's end.

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

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Slotkin, Rogers lead in fundraising for US Senate seat