- Democrat Jocelyn Benson, Republican John James and independent Mike Duggan are top fundraisers in race for Michigan governor
- Benson raised nearly $1 million in the latest reporting period while James raised about $839,000
- Duggan raised $644,000 for the period and nearly $5 million overall
Clear frontrunners have emerged in Michigan’s gubernatorial primaries — at least when it comes to fundraising, according to new campaign finance disclosures analyzed by Bridge Michigan.
Democrat Jocelyn Benson and Republican John James each pulled away from their competition in attracting donors during the final reporting period of 2025. Benson, who currently serves as secretary of state but is term limited, raised nearly $1 million from Oct. 20 through the end of the year. James, a second-term member of the US House, raised about $839,000.
But independent candidate Mike Duggan, the former mayor of Detroit, wasn’t far behind. He raised about $644,000. And Duggan, who launched his campaign in late 2024 with a bombshell announcement he was leaving the Democratic Party, received the most money of any candidate from donors in the first year of his campaign — a little less than $5 million.
Benson’s campaign touted taking in the most money through 2025, a total of $5.7 million, but $1.2 million of that was transferred from her secretary of state campaign committee and raised in prior years. Her total fundraising for the year was closer to $4.5 million and nearly neck-and-neck with James.
In terms of raw money taken in, former attorney general Mike Cox wasn’t far behind Benson. Cox has run a largely self-funded campaign, and his personal loans make up more than half of the $5.1 million his campaign had raised through the end of the year.
He brought in about $286,000 from other donors in the last filing period.
Republican businessman Perry Johnson announced his campaign after the reporting period ended but has said he’s prepared to spend $9 million of his own money in the first 60 days of his candidacy.
The disclosure reports filed Friday provide one of the last looks at the campaigns’ finances before Michigan’s Aug. 4 primary. Gubernatorial hopefuls won’t have to detail donors and spending again for nearly six months, until July 27 — eight days before the election.
Unlike federal candidates, Michigan’s campaign finance law doesn’t require candidates to file a campaign finance disclosure in the spring.
Who’s donating?
While Benson raised more money than James at the end of 2025, James received money from nearly twice as many donors, about 8,000 to Benson’s roughly 4,400, according to a Bridge analysis. He also raised more money from more donors within Michigan.
James received donations from members of prominent wealthy Grand Rapids-area families, including the Van Andels, Secchias and Haworths — all prolific Republican donors.
“Michigan voters and donors see what the data confirms: John is the only Republican who can defeat the Democrats in November and govern effectively from day one,” James campaign manager Jackson Gross said in a statement.
His campaign also touted fundraising by Mission Michigan, a Super PAC formed to support his campaign that can accept unlimited donations from any source but can’t legally coordinate with the candidate.
The PAC, which previously received $5 million from Dan and Pam DeVos, ended the period with $4.8 million in the bank after reporting another $85,000 in contributions, including $50,000 from Marjorie Buckley, a GOP megadonor based in Florida. Since late October, the PAC spent more than $350,000 exclusively on consulting and related fees.
Benson notched donations from two members of the Ford family, billionaire heir and architect Jon Stryker and Jeff Dean, the head of AI at Google.
She also received $15,000 contributions from multiple political action committees, including the United Food and Commercial Workers Active Ballot Club and the Michigan Chapter of Emily’s List, a group that aims to help Democratic pro-choice women win elections.
“Michiganders are rallying behind Jocelyn Benson to fight for the future of our state,” campaign manager Nikki Goldschein said in a statement.
Duggan’s had far fewer donors, but they cut considerably larger checks. While Benson and James’ average donation was $137 and $93, respectively, Duggan had just about 600 donors giving on average $900 each time they donated.
Duggan also received $25,000 from the Michigan Health Access Alliance, and $15,000 from the Michigan Association of Health Plans.
His competitive fundraising as an independent candidate shows “Michigan is ready for an end to the ‘us versus them’ politics,” Duggan said in a statement. “This is what coalition building looks like, not that the politicians of the broken system would recognize it.”
The rest of the pack
Among other Republicans running for governor, state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt raised $336,000, former state House Speaker Tom Leonard raised $221,000 and pastor Ralph Rebandt reported $45,000 in donations.
“At the end of the day, I’m not running to win a fundraising war or please political insiders,” Leonard said in a statement. “I’m running to earn the support of everyday Michiganders who feel their voices go unheard by Lansing.”
After Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist announced he was leaving the gubernatorial race last month to pursue secretary of state, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson is now Benson’s last major competition for the Democratic nomination.
But Swanson’s fundraising dropped in the last fundraising period to $87,000, and his disclosure report showed his campaign spent far more than it took in, about $202,000.
Other statewide races
Fundraising is less directly relevant in early races for attorney general and secretary of state because nominees are picked by delegates to political party conventions, but campaigns are still busy raising cash.
Gilchrist entered the Democratic race for secretary of state on Jan. 12 with $263,000 in the bank for his gubernatorial run, which can be transferred to support his new campaign heading toward his party’s April 19 convention.
That’s less cash on hand than former state Sen. Adam Hollier, who had raised about $354,000 to pursue the nomination by the end of 2025. Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum had about $169,000 in the bank.
On the Republican side, secretary of candidates Anthony Forlini, Monica Yatooma and Amanda Love have all been fundraising, though Forlini, the Macomb County Clerk, has both raised and spent the most in recent months.
The GOP contest for attorney general is a two-candidate race between Doug Llod and Kevin Kijewski. Both have raised around $100,000 and spent similarly heading into their party’s endorsement convention March 28.
In the Democratic race for attorney general, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald is handily leading fundraising over her Washtenaw County prosecutor Eli Savit. She had $624,000 in the bank at the end of the year, compared to Savit’s $52,000.
While fundraising prowess doesn’t necessarily translate to popular support among the party faithful, McDonald has also been racking up endorsements from key groups like the United Auto Workers. Former federal prosecutor Mark Totten dropped his bid.
Battle for Michigan Legislature
Caucus PACs hold major sway in Michigan’s legislative elections, with the ability to spend unlimited amounts to help their state House and Senate candidates. And through the end of 2025, GOP caucuses were far outraising their Democratic counterparts in the battle for the Michigan Legislature.
Senate Republicans are sitting on a whopping $6.2 million compared to Democrats’ $4.8 million — a substantial cash advantage given Democrats currently hold a narrow majority in the chamber.
That money will be able to be put to use in the upcoming 35th district special election, which is expected to be a close race and could effectively wrest control of the body from Democrats. The primary for that race is scheduled for this Tuesday, and candidates vying for the seat have been fundraising heavily.
In the lower chamber, House Republicans had roughly $4.4 million in cash as of the end of the year, compared to $1.9 million for the Michigan House Democratic Fund. Republicans hold a 58-52 seat advantage in the chamber, which they won back in 2024 after two years of Democratic control.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Feb. 3, 2026, to indicate that Democrats Karen McDonald and Eli Savit are running for attorney general. Mark Totten dropped out and has not endorsed in the race at this time.
This article first appeared on Bridge Michigan and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.