LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin is using her fundraising advantage in the race for Michigan’s coveted open U.S. Senate seat to spend $8 million on advertising in the final weeks leading up to the general election.
Slotkin is the overwhelming favorite to win the Democratic nomination in Michigan’s Aug. 6 primary and is expected to face a Republican candidate heavily backed by national groups. Three Republicans are vying for the party’s nomination, and former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers has received an endorsement from Donald Trump.
“This investment will be critical to engaging and mobilizing voters in the final weeks of the campaign and sending Elissa Slotkin to the U.S. Senate,” Slotkin campaign spokesman Austin Cook said in a statement.
While the advertising reservation was already planned earlier President Joe BidenThe party’s troubling debate performance has Democrats across the country worried about its potential impact on key lower-level elections, including Slotkin’s.
Republicans have seized on the opportunity to connect Democrats to Biden on lower ballots. After the announcement of Slotkin’s ad buy, Chris Gustafson, a spokesman for Rogers’ campaign, said spending millions in donor money “will not change the fact that Slotkin and Biden are inseparable.”
According to a press release first shared with The Associated Press, the TV ad reservations for October and November cover the media markets of Detroit, Grand Rapids, Traverse City and Flint, and include broadcast, cable and digital platforms.
Democrats are seeking to retain the U.S. Senate seat that has been held by Sen. Debbie Stabenow since 2001, after she announced her retirement last year. Michigan is one of several swing states that could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate for the next two years.
Slotkin, who is serving her third term in Congress, announced her Senate campaign in February 2023. Since then, she has gained significant support through fundraising and endorsements, positioning herself as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. Actor Hill Harper is her only challenger, but he faces a significant fundraising disadvantage.
Since announcing her candidacy, Slotkin has raised more than $16 million and had $8.6 million in cash on hand (as of the last campaign finance update in early April).
The three leading Republican candidates in the race have not come close to what Slotkin has raised, and Rogers had raised just $2.9 million through March.
National Republican Party groups have become increasingly involved in the race, as the seat is more likely to be won by a party that has not won the Michigan Senate since 1994.
In June, the Republican Senate campaign arm announced $100 million in ad buys ahead of the 2024 elections in key swing states including Michigan. National GOP groups have earmarked more than $14 million in total for ads following the Senate primaries and leading up to the general election, according to media tracking firm AdImpact.
Rogers has been endorsed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, but the primary has been more contentious than the party expected. Businessman Sandy Pensler, another GOP candidate, has spent more than $3 million on ads, some of them attacking Rogers.
Democrats have also made their own big ad buys in the Michigan Senate race. The Senate Democrats’ campaign arm has earmarked nearly $10 million, and their PAC has made another $17 million in ad reservations, according to AdImpact.
