General elections for all 38 seats in the Michigan State Senate will take place on Nov. 8, 2022. State senatorial primary elections were held on Aug. 2, 2022. Republicans hold a 22-16 majority heading into the election.
This article details the five candidates in each party who raised the most money and lost their primary election. In the 2022 election cycle, 25 of 37 Republican primaries and 14 of 38 Democratic primaries were contested. The losing candidates are shown along with the percentage of the vote they received compared to the primary winner. In cases where the race was pushed to a runoff, vote percentages for both advancing candidates are included.
Top fundraisers with unsuccessful primary campaigns this cycle
This information comes from candidate reports to the Michigan Secretary of State covering the period of Jan. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2022.
The Democratic candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary were:
- Marshall Bullock – $112,650 – District 8 (Lost primary 32% – 68%)
- Kelsey Heck Wood – $72,020 – District 14 (Lost primary 40% – 50%)
- Frank Liberati – $48,185 – District 1 (Lost primary 23% – 32%)
- Randy Bishop – $5,050 – District 37 (Lost primary 6% – 86%)
- Michael Wiese – $1,000 – District 23 (Lost primary 43% – 57%)
The Republican candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary were:
- TC Clements – $230,563 – District 16 (Lost primary 48% – 52%)
- Kim LaSata – $198,412 – District 17 (Lost primary 39% – 61%)
- Chris Velasquez – $160,331 – District 35 (Lost primary 19% – 41%)
- Triston Cole – $131,652 – District 37 (Lost primary 37% – 49%)
- Madhu Anderson – $111,400 – District 28 (Lost primary 42% – 58%)
Top fundraisers with unsuccessful primary campaigns last cycle
This information comes from candidate reports to the Michigan Secretary of State covering the period of Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2020.
The Democratic candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary in 2020 were:
The Republican candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary in 2020 were:
The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Michigan PACs submitted to the Michigan Secretary of State. Federal PACs are not required to report to state agencies. 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.
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