Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Ballotpedia
Ballotpedia
National
Kalyn Stralow

Michigan Gov. Whitmer receives $14.3 million, with 5 donors giving $250,000

In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is the number one fundraiser in state politics in the 2022 election cycle so far. According to the most recent campaign finance reports made to the Michigan Secretary of State, the governor received $14,281,061 in total contributions and spent $8,625,120 between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021. Whitmer is running for re-election in 2022.

Gov. Whitmer is a member of the Democratic Party and first assumed office in 2019.

Gov. Whitmer’s reported campaign finance activity, by quarter (2017-2021)

Source: Transparency USA

Contributions to Gov. Whitmer

Of  the $14.3 million already reported in the 2022 election cycle, 12.25 percent came from the top 10 donors.

Top Donors to Gov. Whitmer (1/1/2021 – 12/31/2021)

Rank Total Amount Donor Name Donor Type
1. $250,000 Jay Pritzker Individual
2. $250,000 Mark J Bernstein Individual
3. $250,000 Patricia Stryker Individual
4. $250,000 Ronda Stryker Individual
5. $250,000 Stacy Schusterman Individual
6. $100,000 Heidi and Christopher Stolte Individual
7. $100,000 James Offield Individual
8. $100,000 Karla T Jurvetson Individual
9. $100,000 Richard Whitmer Individual
10. $100,000 Sharif Hussein Individual

Expenditures by Gov. Whitmer

On the expenditures side, Gov. Whitmer reported $8.6 million, with 83.6 percent of all spending going to the 10 payees topping the list. 

Top Expenditures by Gov. Whitmer (1/1/2021 – 12/31/2021)

Rank Total Amount Payee Name Payee Type
1. $3,557,366 Democratic State Central Committee Entity
2. $1,675,064 Run the World Digital Entity
3. $924,410 Paychex Inc Entity
4. $250,000 Mark J Bernstein Individual
5. $206,595 Clark Hill Political Action Comm Entity
6. $172,389 Capital Strategies Group Entity
7. $161,300 Anzalone Liszt Grove Research Inc Entity
8. $95,852 Act Blue Entity
9. $94,959 Cardmember Service Entity
10. $75,000 Mario Morrow & Associates LLC Entity

How Gov. Whitmer’s fundraising compares to other governors

Among elected officials holding the same level of state office, fundraising varies widely. A number of factors, including whether an incumbent officeholder is running for reelection, influence donor activity. Here is how fundraising by Michigan Gov. Whitmer compares to the 10 other governors with campaign finance data available from Transparency USA in 2022:

Fundraising reported by 11 U.S. governors in the 2022 election cycle

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Michigan PACs submitted to the Michigan Secretary of State. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.

Report Name Report Due Date
2022 Annual/January 1/31/2022
2022 April (PACs) 4/25/2022
2022 July (PACs) 7/25/2022
2022 Post-Primary 9/1/2022
2022 Pre-General 10/28/2023
2022 Post-General 12/8/2022

This article is a joint publication from Ballotpedia and Transparency USA, who are working together to provide campaign finance information for state-level elections. Learn more about our work here.

Learn More
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.