More than $3.2 million cash on hand as of August 5
Detroit — Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s campaign committee is continuing a record-setting fundraising pace based on the campaign finance report for the period ending August 5, 2022.
Benson’s committee surpassed expectations, raising over $2.1 million from over 10,000 donors in the reporting period from January 1 to August 5, 2022. Over 90 percent of those donations were $100 or less.
The committee has raised over $3.7 million – $3,757,508.39 to be exact – in the lead up to the November election. The committee has over $3.2 million cash on hand, ensuring the campaign is in a strong position 90 days before Election Day.
“As Election Day draws closer, voters are recognizing that the stakes are high in the election for secretary of state,” said Liz Boyd, spokesperson for the Benson Campaign. “They know that Secretary Benson has delivered on her promise to make it easier to do business with the Secretary of State’s Office, and she will fight to ensure elections are secure and accessible to every Michigan voter – be they a Republican, Democrat or Independent.”
Contributions reported in today’s filing are unprecedented among any previous elected or prospective secretary of state candidate at any point in the election cycle and reflect the work Benson has done to deliver on her 2018 campaign promise to improve customer service and ensure the integrity of our elections.
Benson has transformed the department’s customer service so nearly every resident can renew their credentials from home or at one of 160 new, state-of-the-art self-service stations in branch offices and in grocery stores under a public-private partnership made possible at no cost to taxpayers. Meanwhile, Benson has eliminated the old “take a ticket and wait” system that sometimes resulted in hours-long wait times. Residents who need to visit an office today can do so on average in 20 minutes or less.
In 2020 Benson presided over the most secure and accessible election in Michigan history with more than 5.5 million voters casting ballots. Hundreds of audits confirmed that the results accurately reflected the will of Michigan voters. A Republican-led State Senate committee also investigated the 2020 election and found no evidence of widespread fraud.
During her tenure Secretary Benson has received national recognition for her work. She is a recipient of the 2022 Profile in Courage award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, the Defenders of Democracy award from the Center for Election Innovation and Research and most recently, was elected to a leadership position with the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), the nation’s oldest, nonpartisan professional organization for public officials.
Benson was first elected secretary of state in November 2018.