GREEN IS THE COLOR

Paul Junge

As with the state, federal campaign finance statements aren’t due until the end of January. Still, Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) has already announced she has raised $1.27 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. The efforts bring her total cash on hand to about $2.8 million – quite a daunting total for any potential challenger, of which Republican Paul Junge, a former Lansing TV anchor, announced he has raised $250,000 for the quarter. Of the overall $3.3 million Slotkin has raised since launching her re-election campaign, about 90 percent has come from donations of less than $100. In the state’s U.S. Senate race, Republican challenger John James’ campaign has said he raised about $8 million since last summer – nearly double the $4.6 million in contributions he reported in October. Meanwhile, Democratic incumbent Sen. Gary Peters has more than $8 million cash on hand after raising about $9.3 million during the same time. Official figures will be reported to the FEC and available to the public on January 31.