ANN ARBOR – Republican Rick Snyder spent $7.6 million to win his party’s gubernatorial primary, and Democrat Virg Bernero has the public funding system to thank for his campaign avoiding serious money troubles.
Snyder reported $504,668 on hand as of August 23, according to campaign finance reports filed Thursday reflecting through that date. But Snyder can increase his campaign’s war chest through the stroke of a check.
Bernero reported $27,567 on hand and $94,928 in debts. That would have been big trouble without Michigan’s public funding system for gubernatorial campaigns. Subsequent to August 23, Bernero received the $1.125 million in public funding he is entitled to receive as the nominee of his party. Snyder has exceeded the spending limit for public funding eligibility.
Still, Snyder’s resources mean other entities will likely need to run issue ads to keep Bernero competitive in the critical television advertising battles. That was the case in the primary, where House Speaker Andy Dillon outspent Bernero $1.7 million to $983,492, but unions ran a widespread advertising campaign to counter Dillon – who also had other entities run issue ads on his behalf.
Bernero told reporters Thursday he was pleased with his campaign’s financial position.
“We came out of the primary very strong,” he said.
In the Republican primary, Snyder’s $7.6 million spending, $6.1 million of which came from his own funds, equaled that of the other four candidates combined. Attorney General Mike Cox, who finished third, spent $3.3 million. Oakland Sheriff Mike Bouchard, who finished fourth, spent $2.2 million. U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, who finished second, spent $1.74 million. And Sen. Tom George, who finished fifth, spent $401,545.
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