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Report finds $47-million will be spent on political advertising this week

Phillip Hofmeister

A new report says Michiganders will be exposed to a record-breaking $47-million worth of political advertising this week.

Part of the rise in political spending in Michigan is due to its status as a battleground state - both for the presidency and the senate.

Simon Schuster is with the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, which monitors political spending in the state. He said funding is coming from outside the state by a nearly 2-1 margin.

“I think it’s important to note that more money than ever is flowing into Michigan for these elections from out of state from sources where we can’t trace the source of these contributions,” he said. “I think it becomes a question of what effect that might have on our state and on our democracy.”

Schuster said the senate race is currently spending more than the presidential race - which could be a sign that the senate race is much tighter.

“2020 in terms of just the amount of money flowing into the state and the money spent on political races has been a record-setting year in many aspects,” he said. “But this sort of broke out of the gate even beyond a year that has been unprecedented in many ways.”

It’s the highest week of spending ever, but Schuster said it may end up losing the title right away to the week right before election day.