Hey there, Michigan. Hayley here.

We learned a bit more about the race to be Michigan’s next top election official this week when campaign finance reports came out. The October reports, as they’re called, were due Monday.

I dug through reports for all the candidates running for secretary of state so that you, dear voting-inclined reader, don’t have to. (That said, if you’re looking for campaign finance information on other races, Simon Schuster over at Bridge Michigan is your guy.)

There are, as of my writing this newsletter, five people running for secretary of state as Republicans (excluding Chesterfield Township Clerk Cindy Berry, who is still listed as an active candidate after her 2022 bid for SOS) and three running as Democrats (excluding current Secretary Jocelyn Benson, who is both term limited and running for governor) according to state filings. I didn’t see anyone with an active campaign in the state’s various minor parties.

It’s not a perfect system, but so far out from an actual election, we can use both total donations and the number of donors as a sort of proxy for where people stand on the candidates. Remember: Secretary of state candidates aren’t chosen at primaries, like their gubernatorial peers — they will instead be selected at conventions next year.

I’ve sorted what I saw by party and then by total raised. There may be some errors (a significant number of donors to Deputy SOS Aghogho Edevbie mysteriously list Promote the Vote attorney Erica Peresman as their employer, for instance, something his campaign confirmed to me was an error they are working to fix), but this is what we can glean at first look:

Republicans

1. Amanda Love, Clarkston Community Schools trustee

• Raised $123,904.89 this filing period from 50 donors, including two from California and one each from Texas, Arizona, and Florida

2. Monica Yatooma, executive director of Great Education Action

• Raised $108,920 from 121 donors, including one from Wisconsin

3. Anthony Forlini, Macomb County clerk

• Raised $53,042.66 from 122 donors, including one each from Illinois, Indiana, and Texas

4. Timothy Smith, works in automotive manufacturing

• Raised $23.70 from a Holland, MI, man named Phainorin Anongeth 
• His only other donations were in-kind, all from himself

5. Articia Bomer, write-in candidate for Detroit City clerk

• Had not filed a campaign finance report as of 11 a.m. Thursday

Democrats

1. Adam Hollier, former Michigan state senator

• Raised $348,635.36 this filing period from 208 donors, 168 of whom (or about 81%) reported living in Michigan
• Worth noting: A huge chunk of this money — $244,000 — came from Hollier’s former congressional campaign. He’d still be in the lead among Democrats without it, but he’d rank third overall with $104,635.36, behind Love and Yatooma.

2. Aghogho Edevbie, deputy secretary of state

• Raised $73,238.85 from 506 donors, 371 of whom (about 73%) reported living in Michigan

3. Barb Byrum, Ingham County clerk

• Raised $69,234 from 363 donors, 346 of whom (about 95%) reported living in Michigan

I welcome any thoughts you may have on how these numbers could shape the upcoming race. Or maybe you have questions? Thoughts on Tuesday’s elections? Send ’em my way — I’m at [email protected].

If you know someone else who might like these kinds of election-centric dispatches, encourage them to subscribe! We have fun here, with our NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED bunnies. (Yes, the pet election results are in — Honey and Puff both thank you for your votes.)

Honey is celebrating her [redacted]-place finish by destroying this bunny couch.