WAR OF THE BUCKS

Big dollars aren’t just flying in congressional races. The race between U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Township) and Republican challenger John James is racking up some serious coin, with Peters notching a $2.4 million haul in this last fundraising quarter, April 1 through June 30. Peters, who is seeking his second term, reported he has $4.7 million cash-on-hand, and his campaign reported that a majority of his contributors – 80 percent – gave donations of $50 or less. James, who is attempting his second run at the senatorial ring, after being defeated by Senator Debbie Stabenow in 2018, is no slouch in the fundraising department himself. He was in the ring for just three weeks of the quarter and still brought in $1.5 million in that period. Since he had almost a half-mill in the bank, he goes forward with about $2 million. His campaign stated that he had 12,000 donors, of which 71 percent gave $50 or less, and 88 percent contributed $100 or less. With over a year to go, this looks like quite the expensive horse race.