Follow the Money
A sourced guide to campaign money in federal and Michigan races affecting Barry County voters. Federal figures have been updated from the FEC; older state figures are clearly marked as historical, pending review of the newest official Michigan filings. Receipts, candidate spending and independent spending are not interchangeable.
Source-first. Dates clearly labeled.
Federal race totals are from the FEC through September 30, 2026. State and local amounts on this page were inherited from earlier Transparency USA snapshots; they are provided as historical references only, NOT verified October totals. Percentages derived from lists of top donors were removed because they can mislead readers into thinking they describe whole-campaign funding.
A donation alone does not establish improper influence. Neither a missing data entry nor a zero reported by a third-party site proves that a campaign had no financial activity.
Read the label before the bar
Exact receipt mix means the categories come directly from FEC totals. Top-source snapshot means we grouped the largest named contributors surfaced in Michigan campaign-finance data; it is not a full-cycle percentage breakdown.
Official federal receipts, spending, cash, debts and contribution categories.
Search FEC →Useful federal donor, industry, PAC and outside-spending context built from FEC records.
OpenSecrets →Michigan’s official campaign-finance filing system for state and local committees.
Michigan SOS →Searchable presentation of Michigan candidate, committee, contributor and race data.
Transparency USA →Federal races
Check independent expenditures directly
Spending by Super PACs, political parties and other committees to support or oppose candidates is not the same as money received by candidate committees. We are not publishing an aggregate outside-spending figure here without a consistent FEC reporting cutoff and classification of spending. Explore the FEC records for independent expenditures, the spender, the candidate supported or opposed, and the date.
Source: official FEC candidate overview; coverage 01/01/2025–09/30/2026. Total receipts include contributions, authorized-committee transfers, loans and other receipts; the categories shown are not a complete partition of the total. Outside spending is excluded. Reviewed October 22, 2026.
Source: official FEC candidate overview; coverage 01/01/2025–09/30/2026. Total receipts include contributions, authorized-committee transfers, loans and other receipts; the categories shown are not a complete partition of the total. Outside spending is excluded. Reviewed October 22, 2026.
No donor mix is shown because the FEC currently has no financial activity to categorize for this cycle. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals. In particular, a missing third-party entry is not a verified zero in campaign receipts or expenditures.
Source: official FEC candidate overview; coverage 04/01/2025–09/30/2026. Total receipts include contributions, authorized-committee transfers, loans and other receipts; the categories shown are not a complete partition of the total. Outside spending is excluded. Reviewed October 22, 2026.
Source: official FEC candidate overview; coverage 01/01/2025–09/30/2026. Total receipts include contributions, authorized-committee transfers, loans and other receipts; the categories shown are not a complete partition of the total. Outside spending is excluded. Reviewed October 22, 2026.
Proposal 2: Money Out of Politics
Michigan voters will decide Proposal 2026-2 on Nov. 3. The proposal would prohibit certain campaign contributions involving regulated electric and gas utilities, government contractors receiving more than $250,000 annually in government contracts, and people or organizations with substantial connections to them. It would also expand disclosure rules for political communications, including certain online communications.
Why it belongs on this page: this page shows where campaign money is coming from now; Proposal 2 asks voters whether Michigan should change some of the rules governing who may contribute and what political communications must disclose. Supporters and opponents disagree about the proposal’s scope and effects.
Statewide offices
Mix is a clearly labeled snapshot of the five largest named sources surfaced in the current dataset, not a full-cycle category total. Transparency USA’s current 2026 governor race page lists $5.96M in contributions and $5.84M in expenditures for Benson. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
Snapshot uses the candidate plus the next nine largest named individual contributors shown by Transparency USA. It is not a complete source-category total. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
The current top-contributor list surfaced by Transparency USA is dominated by individuals; this snapshot does not classify every dollar in the committee total. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
Snapshot is based on the ten largest named contributors shown in the current dataset; it is not a full-cycle category total. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
Snapshot is based on the largest named contributors. Transparency USA labels some state records as ENTITY without indicating PAC vs transfer, so we avoid over-classifying those dollars. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
A zero in a third-party dataset should be read as “no activity surfaced here yet,” not proof that no report exists anywhere. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals. In particular, a missing third-party entry is not a verified zero in campaign receipts or expenditures.
Snapshot is based on the ten largest named contributors shown. It is not a full-cycle source breakdown. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
Snapshot is based on the largest named sources surfaced in the current data. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
Barry County legislative districts
Contribution and expenditure totals below are the earlier third-party 2026 snapshots displayed from reports submitted to Michigan. Contributor lists are separately labeled snapshots and may reflect an earlier itemized-data refresh. Spending can exceed current-cycle contributions when a committee uses money carried into the cycle or other reportable resources.
2026 totals cross-checked September 13. The named-contributor snapshot is retained for context but may lag the current aggregate totals. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
2026 totals cross-checked September 13. No percentage chart is shown because the available categories overlap and would misleadingly total more than 100%. The names above are a contributor snapshot, not a full-cycle source breakdown. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
The current 2026 data shows $100 in contributions and $4,396 in expenditures. The difference can reflect funds or reportable resources not counted as current-cycle contributions; it should not be converted into an assumed cash balance. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
2026 totals cross-checked September 13. The contributor snapshot may reflect an earlier itemized-data refresh than the aggregate expenditure total. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
2026 totals cross-checked September 13. All of the named contributors in the available snapshot are individuals, but the snapshot is not represented as a complete current-cycle percentage breakdown. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
Updated September 13. “$0 contributions” does not mean the committee spent nothing; the current 2026 race data reports $12,188 in expenditures. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals. In particular, a missing third-party entry is not a verified zero in campaign receipts or expenditures.
2026 totals cross-checked September 13. All named contributions in the available snapshot are individual contributions; the itemized snapshot may lag the aggregate expenditure total. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
2026 totals cross-checked September 13. “Matt Hall” is labeled ENTITY in the indexed data, so we do not describe it as a personal check. A separate Rigas Leadership Fund reports activity; its totals are not combined with the candidate committee. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
Education & university boards
The ten largest named contributors surfaced in the current dataset are individuals. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
Because the race page currently shows no candidate-committee receipts, no source mix is calculated. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals. In particular, a missing third-party entry is not a verified zero in campaign receipts or expenditures.
Top-source snapshot shows substantial self-funding. Percentages are based on the largest named sources, not a full-cycle category export. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
Transparency USA labels the $10,000 Schostak source as ENTITY; we display it as candidate-linked rather than assuming the legal transaction type. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
Recheck MiTN before publication updates; a zero here reflects the current third-party dataset. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals. In particular, a missing third-party entry is not a verified zero in campaign receipts or expenditures.
No source mix is shown because the current dataset has no activity to categorize. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals. In particular, a missing third-party entry is not a verified zero in campaign receipts or expenditures.
We include the profile because the race total is available, but we do not invent a donor mix without itemized current-cycle data. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
Snapshot is based on the ten largest named contributors currently shown. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
The top ten named contributions surfaced are all individual contributions, including the candidate’s own $1,500. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals.
No source mix is shown because the current race dataset has no activity to categorize. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals. In particular, a missing third-party entry is not a verified zero in campaign receipts or expenditures.
No source mix is shown because the current race dataset has no activity to categorize. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals. In particular, a missing third-party entry is not a verified zero in campaign receipts or expenditures.
No source mix is shown because the current race dataset has no activity to categorize. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals. In particular, a missing third-party entry is not a verified zero in campaign receipts or expenditures.
Judicial races
Judicial campaign-finance data can change quickly after nomination; recheck Michigan Transparency Network for the next filing update. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals. In particular, a missing third-party entry is not a verified zero in campaign receipts or expenditures.
Judicial campaign-finance data can change quickly after nomination; recheck Michigan Transparency Network for the next filing update. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals. In particular, a missing third-party entry is not a verified zero in campaign receipts or expenditures.
Judicial campaign-finance data can change quickly after nomination; recheck Michigan Transparency Network for the next filing update. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals. In particular, a missing third-party entry is not a verified zero in campaign receipts or expenditures.
Judicial campaign-finance data can change quickly after nomination; recheck Michigan Transparency Network for the next filing update. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals. In particular, a missing third-party entry is not a verified zero in campaign receipts or expenditures.
No mix is shown because there is no activity to categorize in the current dataset. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals. In particular, a missing third-party entry is not a verified zero in campaign receipts or expenditures.
No mix is shown because there is no activity to categorize in the current dataset. IMPORTANT OCT. 22 UPDATE: Figure and donor names above are retained from the earlier page and have NOT been independently reconciled to the latest official Michigan Transparency Network filings. They should not be treated as current totals. In particular, a missing third-party entry is not a verified zero in campaign receipts or expenditures.