Limits on Campaign Contributions
Candidates for statewide office are limited to accepting up to $8,325 per donor, per election cycle. State Senate candidates are limited to accepting $2,450 per donor, per election cycle, while State Representative candidates may accept up to $1,225 per donor, per election cycle.
Statewide candidates are limited to accepting $8,325 per political action committee (PAC), per election cycle, and $83,250 per independent PAC, per election cycle. Candidates for State Senate are limited to accepting $2,450 per PAC, per election cycle, and $24,500 per independent PAC, per election cycle. State Representative candidates may accept up to $1,225 per PAC, per election cycle, and $12,250 per independent PAC, per election cycle.
Candidates for Governor with public funding are limited to accepting $750,000 in contributions from state political party committees, per election cycle. Candidates for Governor without public funding may accept up to $166,500 in contributions from state political party committees, per election cycle. Other statewide candidates may accept up to $166,500 in contributions from state political party committees.
State Senate candidates may accept up to $24,500 from state political party committees, per election cycle. State Representative candidates may accept up to $12,250 from state political party committees, per election cycle.
Candidates may make unlimited loans to their own campaigns.
Candidates are prohibited from accepting contributions from labor organizations or corporations.
Filing Deadlines
Candidates are required to file detailed reports of their campaign donations and expenditures. Transparency USA provides accurate, searchable data within days of its release by the Michigan Bureau of Elections.
See Michigan campaign finance report deadlines here.
Additional reports may be required by Michigan filers. If a report is skipped (often because its deadline is close to another), the data from that report is captured in the next update.
Michigan Statewide Office Holders
Michigan statewide office holders serve four-year terms and are up for reelection in non-presidential election years. They are limited to two terms in office, with the exception of the State Board of Education members, who serve eight-year terms and do not face term limits.
The Michigan State Legislature
The Michigan state legislature meets for a two-year period, beginning in January of odd-numbered years, coinciding with the election of new State Representatives.
Michigan House Representatives serve two-year terms and are limited to three terms in office.
Michigan State Senators serve four-year terms and are limited to two terms in office.
How We Display Michigan Campaign Finance Data
Campaign finance is complex, with reporting practices that vary widely from state to state. As a reporting system — and not a balance sheet — contributions and expenditures do not balance the way we’d expect if it were an accounting system. In most cases, this does not mean that the data is incomplete, but rather, that entities are following Michigan’s unique reporting requirements.
To help put the numbers in context, we’ve created a state-specific explanation of how we display information reported. Click the link below for a more detailed description of Michigan’s campaign finance data and how their unique system is displayed on TUSA: