fundraising Archives - The Michigan Star

Commentary: In 2024, Digital Is Everything in Politics

March 30, 2024 RealClearWire

As the 2024 election heats up, now is the time for campaigns to invest wisely. Questions abound: Do you invest in cable news advertising? Door-to-door canvassing? Social media? Something else?

For answers, I look back to the past. In 2000, I oversaw the South Carolina Republican Party’s history-making effort to post real-time presidential primary results online. The election night vote-counting for the epic Bush vs. McCain battle played out on screens across the world – not just in the South Carolina GOP’s vote tabulation center. On that night, the ground shifted beneath our feet.

GOP Presidential Candidates Attempt to Seize on Any Momentum They Garnered in First Debate

August 27, 2023 M.D. Kittle

Every candidate declared victory after Wednesday night’s first Republican presidential debate — even some who didn’t take the stage.

But what’s next for these self-proclaimed winners on the road to the Republican Party nomination?

Vivek Ramaswamy Breaks His Campaign’s Fundraising Record Day After First GOP Debate

August 25, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

Conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign said Friday that he set a new fundraising record in the day following the first GOP presidential debate, the Daily Caller News Foundation confirmed Friday.

Ramaswamy first launched his presidential campaign in February in an interview with DCNF co-founder Tucker Carlson, where he pledged to take on America’s “national identity crisis.” The conservative businessman’s campaign said he raised $600,000 Thursday after making his presidential debate debut alongside Republican heavyweights like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, where many argued he won the night.

Vivek Ramaswamy Officially Meets RNC Fundraising, Polling Requirements for Debates

July 23, 2023 Kaitlin Housler

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign announced Saturday that he has officially met the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) fundraising and polling criteria to participate in debates.

RFK Jr. Hauls in Millions in Campaign Cash, but Lags Far Behind Biden’s Billion-Dollar Campaign

July 7, 2023July 6, 2023 M.D. Kittle

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may be a long-shot candidate for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, but he appears to be hauling in the kind of campaign cash that could give President Joe Biden and his re-election efforts some heartburn.

The Kennedy Jr. campaign last Friday announced its first million-dollar day just hours before the close of the critical July quarterly reporting period.

Haley’s Campaign Haul Considerably Less than the $11 Million Originally Reported

April 20, 2023 M.D. Kittle

Earlier this month, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s campaign boasted the former South Carolina governor had outraised former President Donald Trump, that Haley was a fundraising “force to be reckoned with.”

Turns out the $11 million Haley was said to have raised didn’t quite pan out.

Black Lives Matter Shuts Down Fundraising After Blue States Threatened to Sue

February 4, 2022February 3, 2022 Michigan Star Staff

Black Lives Matter (BLM) removed fundraising features from its website Wednesday after California and Washington threatened to hold the group’s leaders personally liable for its missing financial records, the Washington Examiner reported.

BLM hasn’t had a known leader managing its $60 million bankroll since May 2021, the Examiner reported. California demanded that BLM cease all fundraising activities Wednesday due to the BLM Global Network’s failure to report on its 2020 finances, and the state said it would hold BLM leaders personally liable if they do not submit information about the organization’s finances within 60 days.

Michigan Conservative Group Files for Declaratory Ruling on Gov. Whitmer Recall Fundraising

January 30, 2022January 29, 2022 The Center Square

The Michigan Freedom Fund is seeking answers from Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson related to her decision to allow Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to disburse questionable campaign donations to other Democratic candidates.

The conservative MFF filed a formal request Friday for a declaratory judgment from Benson – who, like Whitmer, is a Democrat – over $3.4 million collected from 119 large donors. Michigan Campaign Finance law limits individual donations to $7,150, but allows an exemption to accept unlimited contributions if a governor is facing a recall attempt.

At the time Whitmer accepted the contributions, there was no active recall effort.

Michigan Nonprofit Alleges Gov. Whitmer’s Campaign Has Illegally Exploited Donation-Limit Loophole

August 3, 2021August 2, 2021 Bradley Vasoli

A complaint filed by the nonprofit Michigan Freedom Fund (MFF) last week alleges that that state’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, has taken illegal advantage of a campaign-finance loophole to raise unlawful amounts of cash.

Individuals may contribute up to $7,150 according to state law, though a 1984 administrative ruling by then Michigan Secretary of State Richard Austin (D) sought to negate that limit for candidates facing recalls. Whitmer has relied on that ruling in surpassing the contribution limit.

Biden Raises $48 Million in 48 Hours After Picking Harris as VP

August 16, 2020August 15, 2020 Michigan Star Staff

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s campaign raised $48 million in the 48 hours after he selected California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate, campaign officials told Reuters Thursday.

The haul is a sign of Biden’s growing fundraising strength ahead of his party’s convention which begins Monday, Reuters reported. Biden is set to formally accept his party’s nomination Aug. 20.

The McCloskeys’ Lawyer Wants St. Louis Prosecutor Kim Gardner Disqualified After She Fundraised off the McCloskey Case

July 31, 2020July 30, 2020 Michigan Star Staff

Attorneys representing Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who displayed firearms after a group of protesters broke a gate and approached their private property, want St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner disqualified from the case after she cited her prosecution of the pair in a fundraising email for her re-election campaign.

The McCloskeys’ attorneys included in Wednesday’s motion two fundraising emails from Gardner’s reelection campaign that clearly referred to the McCloskey case, according to court documents reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

RNC Outraises DNC by Nearly Three-to-One

July 27, 2020July 26, 2020 Michigan Star Staff

The Republican National Committee (RNC) outraised the Democratic National Committee (DNC) by nearly three-to-one last month, according to July 2020 campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission Monday. This was the third month in a row in which the RNC outraised the DNC.

Republicans Head Into the 2020 Election Year with Seven Times More Cash Than Democrats, Records Show

December 23, 2019December 30, 2019 Michigan Star Staff

The Republican National Committee heads into the 2020 election year with more than seven times as much cash on hand as the Democratic National Committee, the parties’ FEC filings show.

Trump’s Campaign Says POTUS Raised $3 Million on Day Democrats Voted for Impeachment Inquiry

November 2, 2019November 2, 2019 Michigan Star Staff

President Donald Trump’s campaign manager said the president raked in millions of dollars on the day House Democrats voted to support an impeachment inquiry Thursday.

Joe Walsh Raised Less Than $130,000 in Primary Effort Against Trump

October 16, 2019October 15, 2019 Michigan Star Staff

Former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh has raised less than $130,000 for his long-shot primary bid against President Donald Trump, according to a report submitted Tuesday to the Federal Election Commission.

Michigan Senate Candidate John James Raises Over $3 Million in 2019’s Third Quarter

October 6, 2019October 5, 2019 Zachery Schmidt

Michigan Senate Candidate John James announced he raised over $3 million in this year’s third quarter from over 30 thousand donors. This is Michigan’s biggest third-quarter fundraising in an off-year in at least ten years, according to the Washington Examiner.

Tlaib Uses Botched Israel Trip for Fundraising

August 21, 2019August 20, 2019 Michigan Star Staff

Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib used her failed trip to Israel for fundraising purposes and said she was “banned from traveling to Israel and Palestine,” in an email Democracy for America sent.