Justin Amash, Elissa Slotkin have raised more money than opponents in Michigan races

WASHINGTON — Money isn't everything but it's at least one thing embattled U.S. Rep. Justin Amash has going in his favor for now.

The only independent member of the U.S. House who famously called for President Donald Trump's impeachment and then left the Republican Party last year, Amash has raised more money and has more left in his campaign coffers than all the other candidates in the race for his west Michigan seat.

That's no small matter, considering the people who have lined up to run against him include the heir to the well-known Meijer grocery store chain, the owner of a local arena and a state representative from the area.

Campaign finance reports filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission show Amash, of Cascade Township, raised $595,000 during the last three months of 2019 — as impeachment proceedings against Trump got underway in the House — lifting his total for the campaign cycle to more than $1 million.

As of Dec. 31, he had $722,000 on hand.

More: Justin Amash quits Republican Party, saying U.S. is in a 'partisan death spiral'

Among the Republicans running for that party's nomination to replace Amash, Peter Meijer did best in the period, raising $313,000 — $75,000 of which was in a loan to himself — to bring his total to $723,000. In total, he has loaned his own campaign $175,000 and had about $557,000 cash on hand.

Meanwhile, Joel Langlois, who owns the DeltaPlex Arena in Grand Rapids, raised $212,000 — nearly all of which, $200,000, was in a loan to himself — to bring his total campaign receipts to just under $460,000. Almost all of that — $400,000 — is in a form of a self-financed loan. He had about $333,000 cash on hand.

And state Rep. Lynn Afendoulis, R-Grand Rapids, raised $113,000 — with only $11,000 in loans — to bring her total to $272,000. So far, she has loaned herself $56,000 and her campaign had about $200,000 in the bank as of Dec. 31. A fourth Republican, Tom Norton, raised $468 in the quarter and has about $1,300 left.

In the Democratic race to succeed Amash, Hillary Scholten, who formerly worked for the Department of Justice under President Barack Obama, raised $124,000, bringing her total to $361,000, and had $207,000 left. Nick Colvin, who worked in the Obama White House, raised about $101,000, bringing his total to $347,000, and had about $60,000 on hand as of Dec. 31. Neither had any self-financed loans to their campaigns.

Despite the money edge, Amash (who also didn't have any loans to himself) still faces a tough road.

More: Peter Meijer, heir to grocery chain fortune, to take on Justin Amash

The district, centered around Grand Rapids, is traditionally Republican, and it's likely that once that party's nominee is set after the August primary, support for that person — especially from pro-Trump factions — will pour in. Langlois and Meijer, especially, are presumed to have plenty of their own money to pump into a race as well.

More: A second term for Donald Trump? Michigan is at the center of the political universe

Winning as an independent in a congressional race in Michigan, meanwhile, is unheard of in recent political history, which is why Democrats believe if Amash stays in the race — which isn't certain — and siphons off some Republican votes, they may have a chance to pick up the seat.

In some other races of note:

Slotkin has huge money edge ...

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, has been targeted as perhaps the most vulnerable member of Michigan's delegation by Republicans, but she's got plenty of money to beat back any challenge.

Her campaign finance report showed she raised a staggering $1.3 million in the last three months of 2019 after she led a group of freshmen members of Congress with national security backgrounds to come out in favor of impeachment.

That brought her total to more than $3.4 million for the campaign cycle; she had nearly $2.9 million left in her campaign coffers as of Dec. 31. None of it has been in the form of self-financed loans.

Her closest Republican competitor in terms of money — Paul Junge, a former TV anchor in Lansing — raised $273,000, with $125,000 of that in the form of a loan to himself. He had about $235,000 left as of Dec. 31.

Slotkin is a former acting assistant Defense secretary. In 2018, she defeated former Rep. Mike Bishop, R-Rochester Hills, in a district long held by Republicans.

... as does Haley Stevens

In the other congressional seat Democrats were able to flip in 2018, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Rochester Hills, also has a big edge in terms of campaign financing,

Campaign finance reports showed that she raised $573,000 during the last three months of the year, bringing her total for the cycle to $2.6 million. She had about $2.1 million in cash available to her campaign as of Dec. 31.

Stevens, the former chief of staff to Obama's auto task force that helped stave off financial disaster for General Motors and Chrysler in 2009, won the seat in 2018 after former U.S. Rep. Dave Trott stepped down.

Among the Republicans, Birmingham lawyer Eric Esshaki raised the most in the last three months of the year, with $168,000 (which is his total) and having about $164,000 left as of Dec. 31. He loaned himself $50,000.

Upton ahead by a lot but Democratic challenger gaining

U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, hasn't yet said he is definitely running for an 18th two-year term to the southwestern Michigan district he represents. But he remains in good financial shape if he decides to do so.

In the last three months of the year, Upton raised $335,000, bringing his total to about $1.3 million. He also has about $834,000 cash on hand.

His chief Democratic challenger, however, state Rep. Jon Hoadley of Kalamazoo, posted a strong quarter as well, however, raising just over $208,000 to bring his total to about $734,000. His $247,000 in the bank is dwarfed by Upton's figure, but if it begins to look like this district is in play in the November general election, he or anyone else who wins the Democratic nomination could be in a position to close that gap.

Candidates looking to replace Mitchell post gains

It's considered likely that Republicans will hold onto the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell, R-Dryden, which stretches from eastern Macomb County through Michigan's Thumb. But it's unclear who may have the edge in replacing him.

Financially speaking, businesswoman Lisa McClain was in the best spot at year's end having raised $489,000 — $250,000 of it in loans to herself — and had $418,000 left in her campaign coffers. State Rep. Shane Hernandez, R-Port Huron, had raised $275,000 — with $12,000 in loans to himself — and had about $250,000 left.

Doug Slocum, a retired brigadier general who formerly commanded Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, had raised about $151,000 in total — $30,000 of it in self-financed loans — and had just under $97,000 in the bank. But Slocum only filed in late October, several weeks into the reporting period, meaning he may not have had as much time for raising campaign funds.

Contact Todd Spangler at tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @tsspangler. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.