Donor Tracking: Who's Funding Your Representative
Following The Money: This page is designed to help the public find out who's funding their elected officials. The information shows state officeholders' top donors over time across a variety of giving methods. The data comes from the Secretary of State's database and IRS filings.
The data was last updated Aug. 16, 2019. For candidate committees, the numbers cover through July 20, 2019. For political action committees (PACs) connected to officeholders, the numbers cover through July 20, 2019.
This page is available because of the support of MCFN donors. To contribute, click here.
Secretary Of State Jocelyn Benson
Donor Tracking
About: Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, is Michigan's secretary of state. She is in her first in office after winning election in November 2018. She defeated Republican Mary Treder Lang in the general election. Benson previously ran for secretary of state in 2010, losing to Republican Ruth Johnson.
According to her campaign website, Benson was most recently CEO and executive director of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality, a national nonprofit. She has also served on several national boards including the advisory board of iCivics, a non-profit founded by retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, according to the website.
Benson raises money through a candidate committee, Jocelyn Benson for Secretary of State. The committee launched in February 2009 for Benson's first run for secretary of state.
TALLY: Top Disclosed Donors To Benson And Connected Committees From 2017 To Present:
1. Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters, $88,000
2. United Auto Workers Michigan PAC, $68,000
3. AFSCME AFL-CIO, $68,000
4. Michigan Education Association PAC, $30,000
5. Bernstein Family PAC and Bernstein family, $23,600
6. Jocelyn Benson, CEO RISE, $22,969
7. Miller Canfield PAC, $21,000
8. Emily's List $15,000
9. Auto Dealers of Michigan PAC, $15,000
10. Daniel and Brianne Ziff, New York, $13,600
11. Ford family, Ford Motor Company, $13,600
12. Ross family, New York, $13,600
13. Torgow family, The Sterling Group, $13,600
14. Fisher family, Southfield, $13,600
DETAILED LISTS
Top donors to Jocelyn Benson for Secretary of State for 2019-2020:
2. Elizabeth Welch, attorney, $6,800
3. CMS Energy, Consumers Energy, $2,000
4. Blue Cross Blue Shield, $1,500
5. David Becker, Pew Charitable Trusts, $585
6. Gary Hoenig, New York, $450
7. Melanie Myers, Huntington Woods, $300
8. Bhimsen Rao, physician, $300
9. Larry Bell, Bell's Brewery, $250
10. Alice Thompson, Black Family Development, $200
15. Teamsters PAC, $10,000
16. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, $10,000
17. Michigan Laborers Political League, $10,000
18. Progressive Women's Alliance PAC, $10,000
19. Michigan Association for Justice, Justice PAC, $10,000
Campaign finance reports can be found in the Michigan Secretary of State's campaign finance database. If you see an error in the above data, please contact us at mcfn@mcfn.org.