LANSING, Mich. — The campaigns of five Republican candidates for Michigan governor who were disqualified from the ballot because of a wave of fraudulent petition signatures collectively spent about $11 million on their bids for the state's highest office, according to new disclosures.
The reports, filed in recent days with the Michigan Secretary of State's office, reveal how the GOP hopefuls used donors' money and their own cash ahead of being knocked off the Aug. 2 primary ballot in May.
By far, the biggest spender of the group was businessman Perry Johnson of Bloomfield Hills, who had given his campaign about $7.9 million of his own money.
Johnson's campaign spent about $7.2 million, not including $684,000 repaid to the candidate, according to his disclosure Monday.
About $4.9 million went to "media buys," referring to a rush of television advertisements that promoted Johnson earlier this year. Johnson ran as a "quality guru." However, the state Bureau of Elections said his campaign submitted 9,393 invalid petition signatures, dropping him below the required 15,000-signature threshold.
Across multiple campaigns, the bureau said it had tracked 36 petition circulators "who submitted fraudulent petition sheets consisting entirely of invalid signatures."
The bureau said it was "unaware of another election cycle in which this many circulators submitted such a substantial volume of fraudulent petition sheets consisting of invalid signatures."
On May 24, Johnson's campaign paid $35,299 to Arizona-based Signafide for "petition analysis."
About $6.5 million of Johnson's spending, including money for TV commercials, flowed through firms using the address of the consulting business of his top political adviser John Yob. But that doesn't mean the money ended up with Yob.
Johnson told The Detroit News in June that he "loved" campaigning for governor.
"It has been so long since I've been out there doing something just so that I was trying to help other people," he said. "I don't think there's anything more gratifying. ... The reality of life is when you're out there doing something to really make the world a better place, it's the greatest feeling in the world."
Fraudulent signatures also led to former Detroit police Chief James Craig being knocked off the Republican primary ballot. He's continuing to run for governor as a write-in candidate.
Craig's campaign has spent about $3.2 million, according to campaign finance disclosures.
His campaign spent about $271,093 on "security" or "executive protection services." It spent less money, $169,002, on "ballot access signature collection" with a Missouri-based firm called Vanguard Field Strategies.
The Bureau of Elections found Craig's campaign had turned in 11,113 invalid signatures, including 9,879 signatures from "fraudulent petition circulators."
Only 10,192 of the 21,305 signatures Craig submitted were "facially valid," leaving him short of the 15,000 signature threshold, according to the bureau.
Like Craig, Donna Brandenburg of Byron Center, another former GOP candidate for governor who was knocked off the primary ballot, is still seeking the state's top office. She's now running as a U.S. Taxpayers Party candidate.
Her campaign has spent $429,539, including $155,503 in "professional fees" to Michigan-based First Choice Contracting.
As part of an ongoing investigation into the petition forgeries, police raided last month a home in Warren connected to Shawn Wilmoth, who leads First Choice Contracting.
Republican Michael Brown of Stevensville, who was also kicked off the gubernatorial primary ballot because of petition forgeries, reported paying First Choice Contracting $63,409 for "petitions." Overall, Brown's campaign spent $157,912.
The fifth disqualified candidate was financial adviser Michael Markey of Grand Haven. His campaign spent $172,672 but also benefited from $166,814 in in-kind contributions from Markey himself. Markey's filing didn't mention First Choice Contracting.
Five GOP candidates remain on the Aug. 2 primary ballot. The winner will challenge Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in November.
———
