Democrats duking it out in Michigan’s contentious Senate primary are burning through cash ahead of the August contest — leaving the likely GOP nominee with a sizable cash on hand advantage as the general election nears.
Abdul El-Sayed led the field in fundraising, raking in nearly $4.6 million in the second quarter. The progressive spent nearly $4.4 million and entered July with $2.7 million in cash on hand, according to Federal Election Commission reports filed Wednesday.
His rival for the Democratic nomination, moderate Rep. Haley Stevens, raised nearly $2.1 million. She spent nearly as much as she hauled in and had $3.4 million in cash on hand to start the month.
Meanwhile, former Rep. Mike Rogers, who is a lock for the Republican nod, ended the second quarter with nearly $5.7 million stashed in his campaign coffers to unload against his eventual Democratic opponent. He raised nearly $2.9 million and spent just $1.4 million.
Battleground Michigan is one of the most critical contests on the Senate map. Republicans are eager to flip retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters’ seat. But Democrats need to hold it as they face an uphill battle to try to retake control of the chamber.
The Democratic Party is also looking to parse the results of their bitter and messy primary, which whittled to a classic progressive-versus-moderate clash earlier this month, for clues as to its direction in the midterms and beyond.
Democratic state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who exited the race earlier this month after failing to get enough traction in the polls, raised nearly $2.7 million, spent $4.2 million and had $2.1 million left in the bank. She has not thrown her support behind Stevens or El-Sayed ahead of the primary, but said she would back the eventual Democratic nominee.
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