General elections for all 110 seats in the Michigan House of Representatives will take place on Nov. 8, 2022. State house primary elections were held on Aug. 2, 2022. Republicans hold a 56-53 majority heading into the election.

This article details the five candidates in each party who raised the most money and lost their primary election. In the 2022 election cycle, 73 of 108 Republican primaries and 53 of 109 Democratic primaries were contested. The losing candidates are shown along with the percentage of the vote they received compared to the primary winner. In cases where the race was pushed to a runoff, vote percentages for both advancing candidates are included.

Top fundraisers with unsuccessful primary campaigns this cycle

This information comes from candidate reports to the Michigan Secretary of State covering the period of Jan. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2022.

The Democratic candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary were:

• Joe Boogren – $68,540 – District 109 (Lost primary 45% – 55%)
• Jon Horford – $63,489 – District 77 (Lost primary 50% – 50%)
• Michael Brodsky – $57,296 – District 103 (Lost primary 15% – 85%)
• Robyn L. McCoy – $56,655 – District 32 (Lost primary 37% – 47%)
• Annie Brown – $52,507 – District 38 (Lost primary 46% – 54%)

The Republican candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary were:

• John Wetzel – $151,010 – District 84 (Lost primary 23% – 51%)
• Terence Mekoski – $140,771 – District 59 (Lost primary 34% – 52%)
• Rodney Wakeman – $138,570 – District 97 (Lost primary 30% – 59%)
• Parker Fairbairn – $136,470 – District 107 (Lost primary 35% – 42%)
• Todd Schorle – $129,436 – District 92 (Lost primary 26% – 43%)

Top fundraisers with unsuccessful primary campaigns last cycle

This information comes from candidate reports to the Michigan Secretary of State covering the period of Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2020.

The Democratic candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary in 2020 were:

• Randy Bruce – $112,519 – District 37 (Lost primary 21% – 49%)
• Brendan Johnson – $62,412 – District 45 (Lost primary 43% – 57%)
• Michele Oberholtzer – $60,114 – District 4 (Lost primary 14% – 38%)
• George Etheridge – $59,728 – District 8 (Lost primary 16% – 45%)
• Stephanie Moore – $55,434 – District 60 (Lost primary 49% – 51%)

The Republican candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary in 2020 were:

• John Inhulsen – $119,015 – District 73 (Lost primary 29% – 46%)
• Sreenivas Cherukuri – $105,400 – District 38 (Lost primary 23% – 62%)
• Meghan Reckling – $78,705 – District 47 (Lost primary 41% – 54%)
• Joseph O’Mara – $76,143 – District 83 (Lost primary 14% – 36%)
• Tony Cutler – $66,020 – District 105 (Lost primary 36% – 55%)

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Michigan PACs submitted to the Michigan Secretary of State. Federal PACs are not required to report to state agencies. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.

This article is a joint publication from Ballotpedia and Transparency USA, who are working together to provide campaign finance information for state-level elections. Learn more about our work here.