Michigan Gov.r Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, may have to return over $3 million of excess campaign contributions, mostly from big money donors, Fox News reported.
The Michigan Republican Party brought attention to the governor’s campaign fraud.
According to a Detroit News report, Whitmer pulled in a record $8.65 million by the end of July for a potential recall campaign, including $3.4 million from the ultra-wealthy, who gave more than the normal $7,150 limit for individuals.
Whitmer’s campaign has benefited from six-figure donations from several donors, the Detroit Free Press reported.
She received over $250,000 from five individual donors, including $257,150 from attorney Mark Bernstein of the Sam Bernstein Law Firm and $250,000 from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, one of Whitmer’s closest allies, was forced to rule that Whitmer may have to return all of those funds in the event that the recall election does not happen.
Yet even now, Whitmer may be able to funnel the money to her preferred causes.
Michigan state law allows for the collection of recall election funds, even if the recall election never actually takes place. But if no recall election occurs, the funds must be returned or “donated.”
Last summer, Whitmer campaign spokesman Mark Fisk suggested that the funds exceeding the individual amount could be donated to the Michigan Democratic Party.
State Republicans called the “recall exception” unconstitutional, decrying the exemption as a policy that essentially allows unlimited contributions which can later be funneled into another account.
Whitmer has a long-time habit of hobnobbing with fat cats, collecting major donations from the ultra-rich.
The Democratic Governess dubbed her 10 top individual donors the “$100,000 Club,” made up of wealthy leftists who gave her big money to ensure her rule over the mostly rural and conservative state.
When asked to clarify Whitmer’s financial situation, a communications director from her office suggested that Benson’s ruling “confirms the campaign’s fundraising has been in accordance with the law.”
