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What Michigan House hopefuls raised in key races for Congress

Melissa Nann Burke, The Detroit News on

Published in Political News

DETROIT — First-term Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett led the Michigan House delegation in fundraising last quarter, posting a more than $1 million haul as he prepares to fight for a second term in his competitive mid-Michigan district.

Among his would-be challengers, Democrat Bridget Brink of Lansing, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, pulled in the most for the last three months of 2025, reporting just over $529,000 in receipts and just over $1 million in cash reserves.

Democrat Matt Maasdam, a former Navy SEAL and White House aide to former President Barack Obama, raised nearly $403,700 and had $515,600 in the bank, while climate activist Will Lawrence of Lansing brought in nearly $134,200 and had $227,360 cash on hand, according to campaign finance filings.

Both Maasdam and Lawrence have pledged to take no donations from corporate political action committees. Maasdam and Lawrence's top state for donations of $200 or more was Michigan last quarter, and Brink's was Illinois.

The toss-up contest for Barrett's seat in Congress is expected to be among the most competitive nationwide in the fall midterm elections. Barrett defeated Democrat Curtis Hertel Jr. in 2024 by 3.7 percentage points when the seat was left empty because Democrat Elissa Slotkin ran for the Senate.

10th District

In suburban Detroit, Michael Bouchard, a political newcomer and an Army paratrooper, posted the largest haul in the GOP primary contest for the 10th District, where U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township is retiring to run for governor.

Bouchard raised nearly $550,600 in his first fundraising quarter since joining the race in November, followed by attorney Robert Lulgjuraj of Sterling Heights, who hauled in $350,200 and has the largest war chest in the GOP primary contest with $765,200 in cash reserves as of Dec. 31.

Bouchard's campaign also pointed to another $255,000 raised by a pro-Bouchard super PAC called Honor, Duty & Discipline PAC, which previously served as a committee to "draft" Bouchard into the race. He is the son of the Oakland County sheriff of the same name.

Another Republican candidate, Justin Kirk of Clinton Township, posted $322,000 in receipts after loaning his campaign nearly $300,000, according to his filing with the Federal Election Commission.

None of the top three Democrats running in the 10th District cracked $300,000 this quarter: Former Commerce Department attorney Eric Chung raised about $257,700, followed by former prosecutor Christina Hines with $228,100 and former Pontiac Mayor Tim Greimel at $201,800. Chung has the most cash reserves at $765,200 on Dec. 31. The district includes southern Macomb County and Rochester and Rochester Hills in Oakland County.

8th District

 

In the Tri-Cities region, first-term U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City, raised seven times what her GOP challenger Amir Hassan of Flint brought in. The congresswoman hauled in about $896,600 during the reporting period, including about $25,000 bundled by the pro-Israel JStreet PAC. She closed out the year with $2.6 million in the bank.

Hassan, a former federal law enforcement officer who was recently endorsed by James, reported just over $127,300 raised and about $65,000 in cash on hand.

McDonald Rivet, a former state senator, defeated Republican Paul Junge in 2024 by more than 6.6 percentage points.

11th District

In Oakland County, the 11th District seat is up for grabs because Democratic U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham is running for Senate.

In the Democratic primary, former Ford Motor Co. engineer Don Ufford again won the quarterly fundraising race by bringing in $175,600 to state Sen. Jeremy Moss' $153,600 in receipts. Ufford ended with $355,600 in cash reserves, and Moss with $510,300 in the bank, records show.

Dr. Anil Kumar, a Democrat who serves on the Wayne State Board of Governors, reported $119,300 in receipts, including $90,000 that he loaned his campaign. But he closed out with just $10,100 cash on hand after spending significantly on consulting services.

In west Michigan, long-time U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Holland, raised almost $432,000 or nearly two times what state Sen. Sean McCann of Kalamzaoo did. McCann is aiming to challenge Huizenga in the 4th District that covers a swath of west Michigan's lakeshore.

In 2024, Huizenga defeated Democrat Jessica Swartz of Kalamazoo by nearly 12 percentage points, 55% to 43.4%.

_____


©2026 www.detroitnews.com. Visit at detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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