COURTING FAVORS

Despite a new television ad touting that he is “his own man” who can’t be “bought,” Republican Senate candidate John James of Farmington Hills has been spending time currying favors – in the form of big dollars – with a variety of questionable folk. We all know he’s into the DeVos family for $1 million. Word has come that new postmaster general Louis DeJoy has donated to James’ campaigns this year and in 2018, making it rather difficult for James to criticize any of the post office’s election shenanigans. One Nation, a non-profit organization affiliated with the GOP super PAC Senate Leadership Group, Mitch McConnell’s dark money group, began spending $4.5 million pitting Sen. Gary Peters against James. Word is One Nation joins other outside PACs spending up to $16 million in Michigan so far on the race, according to the Center for Responsive Politics – all after Politico published a memo from James’ internal campaign’s general consultant begging “for outside air support from Republican groups.” With all of the dark money being spent on James, on August 24, the Michigan Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) because a federal candidate, or agent of a candidate’s campaign, is prohibited from soliciting or directing funds to help their campaign from dark money groups.