PODCAST:
Aug. 6, 2026 ~ With Michigan’s U.S. Senate race between Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers taking shape, political strategist Dennis Darnoi breaks down how much money could flood into one of the nation’s most closely watched contests and what it means for voters.
MICHIGAN ~ Much of Michigan’s Democratic primary was defined by outside spending, and that will likely not change in the general election race.
The recent Michigan Senate Primary saw $98.2M in total ad spending, with about $80 million of that total spent in the Democratic race between U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and former Wayne County health official Abdul El-Sayed. Stevens’ campaign saw $60 million dollars in outside spending in particular, with her contribution from AIPAC a constant critique from El-Sayed.
But heavy outside funding will likely continue after his victory in the primary, with political strategist Dennis Darnoi telling WJR that groups like AIPAC will start supporting Mike Rogers throughout the general election race. With Michigan’s swing state status likely to help decide party control of the Senate, the pressure to spend will only increase from both parties.
“You’re going to have PACs coming in, and then you’re going to have your dark money groups and your 501(c)(4)s that you don’t know who they are coming in and spending,” he said. “A lot of that money is spent on the negative side of things, the scary mailers or the scary ads that you see. Then you’re going to have the national committees, the National Republican Senate Committee and National Democratic Senate Committee, come in and spend money in this race.
“There are four toss-up states that are going to determine control of the U.S. Senate, and Michigan is the only one that’s being defended by the Dems. Republicans have to defend the other three. So you’re going to see a lot of these outside groups aligned with the Democratic Party coming in and just throwing, again, just an insane amount of money across the board.”
