MONEY-A-GO-GO
The big Kahuna in the Michigan money competition is in the race for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat, between Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) and former Congressman Mike Rogers (R-White Lake, we think). Slotkin announced in early October that she had raised $18 million in the third quarter, for a total of over $40 million this election cycle, an unbelievable haul. “With five weeks until Election Day, our campaign has dominated in grassroots fundraising, bringing in the largest Senate haul in Michigan’s history,” her campaign’s communications director, Austin Cook, said. “Mike Rogers continues to depend on billionaires and super PACs to prop up his entire campaign.” While we dismiss most campaign press releases for the spin they are, this one contains more than a kernel of truth. As of the end of September, Slotkin had outraised Rogers four-to-one. According to the FEC, at that point he had raised $5.3 million total and had $2.5 million in his coffers. He had not yet released his third quarter fundraising efforts. However, the race is still considered close – Slotkin is up between 3.5 and 5 percentage points, depending on the polling data. To keep it competitive, the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC affiliated with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) is pouring in $22.5 million. Great Lakes Conservative Fund, a pro-Rogers super PAC, has already spent a bunch and has added another $4 million buy, while the Senate Majority PAC, with ties to Senate Democratic Leadership, is spending $14.5 million to maintain Slotkin’s lead. No doubt the biggest winners in this race are the TV station executives.