This story was updated to add new information.
Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers continues to badly lag Democratic U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin in fundraising in the race for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat but outside groups have helped him make up a bit of the difference in terms of how much is being spent on the race overall.
As of the most recent Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports, at least $142 million has been spent on the race, $80 million on Slotkin's side and about $62 million on Rogers'.
Campaign finance reports due this week indicated that, as of Sept. 30, Slotkin, of Holly, raised $16.7 million between the middle of July and the end of September, bringing her total to $40.1 million, $36 million of which she has spent to date on her race to succeed Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who announced last year she would not run for a fifth 6-year term .
Rogers, who served in Congress from 2001-15 and won the Republican primary in August, raised only about $4.2 million through his main campaign committee during the most recent reporting period, bringing his total to $9.6 million. Of that, he has spent about $7 million. (A joint fundraising committee Rogers is part of has also raised a total of about $1.5 million as of Sept. 30, about $618,000 of which has been transferred to Rogers' committee; it was not immediately clear whether that was already included in his overall campaign committee receipts.)
As expected, however, outside groups — generally known as super PACs, which raise and spend their own money independently of the candidates' campaign committees — have been pouring money into the race, a trend that is expected to continue through the Nov. 5 general election with control of the U.S. Senate possibly on the line. Super PACs can generally raise and spend as much as they like on their own efforts to support or oppose a candidate as long as they don't coordinate their expenditures with a campaign or give directly to a candidate .
Reports processed by the Federal Election Commission showed some $55 million had been spent by groups supporting Rogers or opposing Slotkin, much of it on advertising on TV and online. Among the biggest spenders for Rogers have been the Senate Leadership Fund — a group created by former advisers to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. — which has so far spent more than $15 million on the race, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) in Washington, which has spent more than $11 million.
Another political action committee, the Great Lakes Conservatives Fund — which counts among its backers Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of New York-based Blackstone Group, a giant investment firm, and Ken Griffin, head of Miami-based hedge fund Citadel LLC — has also put more than $19 million into the race on Rogers' behalf.
It also wasn't immediately clear whether spending by that joint fundraising committee — which also provides funds to the National Republican Senatorial Committee — was included in that total for outside spending.
Slotkin has her outside supporters, too, however, and FEC reports indicate at least $44 million has been spent to date on her behalf, though there are some caveats to that. Among several outside groups spending money on her behalf, the most has been put in by WinSenate, an arm of Senate Majority PAC, which in turn is linked to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., spending some $11.6 million. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — overseen by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan — has added another $11.7 million.
Other outside supporters include the League of Conservation Voters PAC, which has spent about $1.4 million on Slotkin's behalf; Protect Progress, a committee affiliated with cryptocurrency backers , which has added about $1 million; and Everytown Victory Fund, a gun safety committee, which has also added about $1 million.
But the outside spending in the race isn't as clear cut as just that: One group calling itself Future Coalition PAC said it spent more than $483,000 in support of Slotkin but also another $67,000 in opposition to her, paying for things like printing mailers, sending text messages, putting up billboards and creating messages on digital media. Future Coalition PAC, however, has been linked with Republican consultants and a group called Building America's Future, which has seen funds routed through it by Tesla head Elon Musk and which is holding a roundtable discussion with President Donald Trump in Oakland County this Friday.
The New York Times reported on ads Future Coalition has taken out appearing to emphasize, if not exaggerate, Vice President Kamala Harris' support of Israel regarding the conflict in Gaza, as well as her husband's Jewish faith, that have targeted the large Muslim and Arab American communities in southeastern Michigan. Many in those communities have been demanding the Biden administration take a much stronger stand in demanding a permanent cease-fire, so emphasizing Harris' husband's Jewish faith or her support of Israel could be seen as an attempt to get voters there to refuse to support her.
Slotkin, who, like Harris, has said she supports a cease-fire but also Israel's right to defend itself from regional aggression, is the only Jewish member of Michigan's congressional delegation. Rogers, like Trump, has also voiced strong support for Israel and only believes a cease-fire should occur if Hamas releases Israeli hostages.
According to Open Secrets, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that tracks campaign spending, the Michigan Senate race is so far the fifth most expensive Senate race in the country , though it hasn't yet become the most expensive in state history. In the U.S. Senate race from four years ago in which Peters beat John James — who would go on two years later to win a U.S. House seat — some $200 million was spent by the candidate s and outside groups.
FEC reports showed that Slotkin, a three-term congresswoman long known for her fundraising prowess, had about $4.1 million left in the bank at the end of September. Rogers had about $2.6 million left on hand.
On average, polls have shown Slotkin narrowly ahead of Rogers in the Michigan Senate race.
Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com . Follow him on X @tsspangler .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Elissa Slotkin holds big fundraising edge over Mike Rogers in US Senate race
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