Posted on 10/19/2006 6:22:25 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
LANSING, Mich. (AP) The race for governor, already the most expensive in state history, could end up costing $60 million, a campaign finance analyst says.
Rich Robinson, executive director of the nonpartisan Michigan Campaign Finance Network, said a $60 million race would far outstrip the 2002 governor's race, which until this year had led all previous Michigan gubernatorial races at $38 million.
The push for dollars is growing intense as the campaigns head toward the Nov. 7 election.
The wife of GOP candidate Dick DeVos put out an appeal earlier this week asking donors to contribute $51,000 to help her husband celebrate turning 51 on Saturday. Sunday is the closing date for contributions to be reported in the next campaign finance reports, which are due Oct. 27.
DeVos and Democratic incumbent Jennifer Granholm had spent a combined $25.9 million as of late August, according to the candidates' most recent campaign finance reports. DeVos had raised $21.6 million and spent nearly $21 million, while Granholm had raised $12 million and spent $4.9 million.
DeVos reported giving his campaign more than $16 million through late August. But he also raised more money from individual donors than Granholm.
``We've got a campaign to win, a birthday to celebrate, a campaign finance disclosure report to file and a goal to meet,'' Betsy DeVos wrote in her appeal. ``The kids and I would like to give Dick a birthday present by raising $51,000.''
Granholm has not put out a specific plea for funds as the reporting deadline draws near, but campaign spokesman Chris De Witt said she has held more fundraisers than DeVos. That included one Wednesday night with young professionals in Detroit and one Oct. 13 with U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.
``We're continuing fundraising efforts both on the Internet and by direct mail'' as well, De Witt said.
Most of the money being raised by both candidates is going toward television ads. Robinson said spending on TV ads by the DeVos and Granholm campaigns and the Michigan Democratic Party had reached close to $26 million by early October. He expects another $14 million will be spent on ads this month, raising the total to $40 million.
That's more than was spent on everything ads, staff, polling and office space, among other costs in 2002, when Granholm beat David Bonior and James Blanchard in the Democratic primary and then beat Republican Dick Posthumus in the general election.
In the 1998 governor's race, $16 million was spent in the primary and general elections, including more than $5 million contributed by Democratic candidate Geoffrey Fieger to his own campaign, Robinson said. Fieger won the Democratic primary but lost to Republican Gov. John Engler.
Noting the rapid rise from $16 million eight years ago to possibly $60 million this year, Robinson said, ``If household income were growing at this rate, our state economy would be the envy of the universe.''
EDITOR'S NOTE Kathy Barks Hoffman heads the Lansing AP bureau and has covered Michigan politics since 1986.
It's pretty shocking to me that Granholm even has a chance given the disaster she's brought on Michigan.
I remember when you could run a Presidential election for this much. The good old days...
Can they run the state as a giant pyramid scheme?
I'm not sure I'd give her all the credit - but given the situation in the auto industry for the past 4 years, one could say she didn't help much.
The other half that remains is among the country's brightest and hardest working people. Pity such a large sum is spent on a few votes on nitwits in the middle fighting for that 1/2 of 1 percent..
7.1% unemployment last month, worst in the nation.
I think it's the metro areas that she gets her strength from.
We ordinary taxpaying slobs should ask ourselves, "If they are spending $60 million for a job that pays $150,000 a year they are either crazy or they know something we don't.
Grandstand has spent $100 million for her "cool cities" program. A town nearby got a 6 by 4 ft. sign proclaiming it was "cool." Probably cost the taxpayer $10,000.
Also got a movable 10 ft. sign that says you get 15 years if you injure a state worker. But if the state kills a citizen, there's no penalty.
We spend our state tax dollars on good stuff.
I'm glad to hear that. I just want to do what I can to make sure that she doesn't get any more warm than lukewarm!
I know that someone posted that Royal Oak had a ton of DeVos signs, which gives me hope for Oakland County; however, we can't forget that Oakland and Wayne went for Kerry and Macomb barely went for Bush.
I do live in Oakland County, but I never voted for Kerry.
I hope that your neighbors are going to vote like you will. We need Oakland to go for DeVos, as I really doubt Wayne will.
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