2018 campaigns in Michigan could be most expensive ever

With spirited races across Michigan for Congress, statewide offices and the Legislature, 2018 will be a very big year for PACs, SuperPACs and campaign consultants.

According to the nonprofit Michigan Campaign Finance Network (MCFN), this year’s flurry of election campaigns might be the most expensive in state history.

The MCFN reports that fundraising by PACs in the first three quarters of 2017 reached $18.5 million, the highest ever for a prior-year election subtotal. As of Oct. 20, the pace was significantly above the same period of time in 2015 and more than 50 percent beyond what was raised in that period during 2009.

The rising tide of campaign cash is especially noticeable among the partisan caucuses in the state House and Senate, thanks to the 2013 changes in campaign finance laws that doubled the maximum giving.

Again, using Jan. 1 to Oct. 20 as the measuring stick, MCFN found that 2017 caucus fundraising had tripled the amount of most past election cycles, going back to 1997. The leader in this category is the Senate Republicans, who had already rounded up $3 million as of October.

MCFN executive director Craig Mauger expects a burst of Michigan SuperPACs to form in the coming months, and these shadowy groups will take advantage of their ability to raise unlimited funds from corporations and labor unions. In the race to replace term-limited Gov. Rick Snyder, expect the Republican and Democratic governor’s associations to pour many millions of dollars into Michigan as the general election nears.

Another financial factor in 2018 is the large number of candidates running for state House and Senate, which is already at roughly 175. It remains to be seen if the record $27 million spent on 2016 House races will be surpassed. But the trends certainly point that way. Just since 2002, the money dished out in pursuit of House seats has nearly doubled.