Secretary of State Benson says Whitmer may have to return millions in campaign donations
Paul EganLANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer may have to return or donate millions of dollars in campaign contributions at the end of this year, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson says in a court filing.
Whitmer has collected at least $3.4 million in what would normally be considered excess campaign contributions after her campaign invoked a recall exception to allow unlimited donations from individual donors. The normal limit is $7,150, but Whitmer has collected six-figure donations from several donors.
Michigan Republican Party chairman Ron Weiser sued Benson, the state's top elections officer, over the donations in September. Weiser argued in federal court in Grand Rapids that the recall exception unconstitutionally disadvantages Republican donors such as himself, who are unable to give similar amounts to their preferred candidates for governor.
Others have questioned whether it is appropriate for Whitmer's campaign to cite the recall exception, saying that although language for several recall petitions have been filed against the governor, none appeared close to collecting the required number of signatures.
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In a Wednesday court filing in the suit filed by Weiser, Benson said through the Attorney General's Office that Whitmer gains no unfair advantage from the extra money her campaign has collected because any funds not spent fighting recalls must be returned to donors or donated to a political party or charity. Therefore, there is no basis for Weiser's suit, she said.
Also, under state law, no new recalls can be filed against Whitmer during the final year of her current four-year term, meaning the end of this year is the cut-off date for such efforts.
"As of this date, none of the recall petitions that have been approved have returned valid signatures within the required 180 days, and no new recall petitions have been approved since September of 2020," Benson said in the filing.
"If there are no additional recall petitions filed by Jan. 1, 2022, any possible recall effort will necessarily be considered 'concluded' because no new petitions could be filed. The governor would be required to disgorge any contributions received in excess of the MCFA (Michigan Campaign Finance Act) limits at that time — months before even the April 19, 2022, deadline for Republican gubernatorial candidates to file their nominating petitions."
Whitmer and Benson are both Democrats.
The recall exception invoked by the Whitmer campaign originated with a 1984 administrative ruling issued by former Michigan Secretary of State Richard Austin, a Democrat. He set out of some of his reasoning in a 1983 letter to a state Senate majority leader. Austin said that when a candidate is facing a recall, the donation limits do not apply because recall committees can accept unlimited donations from individuals.
Whitmer reported in July she has more than $10 million in cash on hand for her expected re-election 2022 re-election campaign. That is a record amount, more than a year out from the election.
In response to the Benson court filing, Michigan Republican Party spokesman Gustavo Portela issued a statement that said: "Gretchen Whitmer has illegally raised funds in excess of Michigan’s contribution limit by claiming a recall exception for a recall that doesn’t exist."
That is false, said Maeve Coyle, a spokeswoman for the Whitmer campaign.
The Michigan Republican Party "continues to attack Gov. Whitmer in every way they can think of, including recall efforts and frivolous lawsuits," Coyle said.
"The campaign will continue to fight back attempts to attack the governor while following the guidelines set by precedent," she said. Wednesday's court filing "confirms the campaign’s fundraising has been in accordance with the law.”
Benson has said previously that when campaign donor limits are lifted because of the recall exception, amounts donated above the normal limits would have to be spent fighting recalls or disgorged by the campaign. Wednesday's filing was the first time Benson publicly applied her understanding of state law specifically to the facts of the Whitmer campaign and recall efforts directed at her.
Simon Schuster, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, said he will be watching to see what happens with the money, should no active recall against Whitmer materialize. If the money is donated to the Michigan Democratic Party, it could still benefit Whitmer's re-election through the purchase of issue advertising, he said.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.