KALAMAZOO, MI -- Seen any good campaign ads lately?

Candidates for Michigan's 6th District House seat are putting more than a year of fundraising to use with time running out to get their name in front of voters before the November general election. More than $7.2 million has been spent as of Oct. 17, which makes the race likely to top the historic $7.3 million spent in 2014.

Pre-election campaign finance filings were due to the Federal Election Commission Oct. 25 and became available for voters to view through a searchable online database this weekend. The latest report covers contributions and spending from January 2017 through Oct. 17.

As to be expected, filings showed Republican incumbent Fred Upton has more money to leverage than Democratic challenger Matt Longjohn. Voters will decide whether to re-elect Upton to a 17th consecutive term representing Southwest Michigan in the House on Nov. 6.

Upton raised $2.92 million as of Oct. 17, including $1.1 million from individuals and $1.8 million from campaign committees.

The experienced campaigner spent $2.59 million by mid-October, leaving him with nearly $819,277 to spend in the final weeks of the election.

Longjohn raised $1.27 million as of Oct. 17, including $1.14 million from individuals and $53,750 from campaign committees.

The first-time politician has just $129,200 to use before Election Day.

While Upton outraised his challenger, independent groups poured money into ads opposing the Republican incumbent.

Independent groups spent $1.53 million on ads opposing Upton and almost $1.5 million on positive campaign communications for Longjohn.

Money spent in support of Longjohn more than tripled the amount independent groups spent to support Upton.

Change Now was the most substantial independent donor, chipping in $1.39 million for television ads and other materials supporting Longjohn and $1.4 million in communications opposing Upton.

The FEC listed no records for a third candidate in the race, U.S. Taxpayer's Stephen J. Young, though his name will appear on the ballot.

Upton's top donors

Upton's top individual donor is Jeffrey MacKinnon, a Washington D.C. lobbyist with firms aligned with issues related to healthcare, energy and communications. MacKinnon gave $6,400 so far.

Thirty-six people contributed the $5,400 maximum amount allowed by the FEC to Upton's campaign. Prominent members of the business community in Southwest Michigan supported the longtime-incumbent.

Several members of the DeVos family contributed a total of $27,000. Daniel, Douglas, Maria, Richard and Suzanne DeVos each contributed $5,400.

Members of the Meijer family also supported Upton to the tune of $4,700 total.

Kalamazoo philanthropist William Parfet and his wife, Barbara, each contributed $5,400 total. Parfet is one of two community power-brokers who donated $70 million to the city of Kalamazoo in 2016 to subsidize a property tax cut and fund community programs.

Southwest Michigan First Executive Director Ron Kitchens also contributed $1,500. Marc Schupan, owner of Schupan and Sons Inc. in Kalamazoo gave $1,000.

Upton raised nearly $25,000 from people associated with Whirlpool Corp. Upton's grandfather and namesake was co-founder of the appliance manufacturer and marketer Whirlpool, headquartered in Benton Harbor.

Businessman and founder of Quicken Loans Dan Gilbert contributed $1,000. Gilbert has spent tens of millions of dollars to push a revitalization of Detroit's urban core.

Forty-four political action committees contributed $10,000 to Upton this election cycle. Twenty are based in Washington, D.C.

This includes donors like moderate Republican House caucus Tuesday Group PAC and bipartisan group No Labels, as well as Paul Ryan's committee Prosperity Action, Inc. and GOP leadership committees New Pioneers PAC, Majority Committee PAC and Lone Star Leadership PAC, among others.

Ryan for Congress Inc. also gave $4,000 to Upton's campaign. Koch Industries Inc., owned by GOP financiers Charles and David Koch, contributed $5,000.

Committees related to Pfizer, Ford Motor Company, DTE Energy, Quicken Loans Inc., Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan each gave $10,000. Other Michigan corporate donors include Consumers Power Co., Michigan Farm Bureau, the Dow Chemical Co. Employees PAC and Michigan Milk PAC.

Companies like AT&T, Boeing, Caterpillar, Charter Communications, Comcast, Entergy, Home Depot, the National Association of Broadcasters and Verizon also contributed $10,000. Upton's donors include many companies and organizations related to energy, healthcare and communications.

More than half of Upton's funding came from Michigan sources, 57 percent, and a third came from donors inside the 6th District, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Longjohn's top donors

Longjohn's top individual donor is himself. He's put in $69,500 of his own money so far.

Eighteen people donated the maximum amount of $5,400 in the primary and general election, including Bell's Brewery Inc. President Larry Bell. Longjohn's primary election watch party was held at Bell's Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo.

Longjohn's donations include more than $30,000 from people affiliated with the YMCA, his previous employer. The former YMCA health officer gave up his position to pursue Congress. He also attracted dozens of donors from academia, including Michigan universities, Harvard Medical School faculty and the University of Oxford.

Longjohn has pledged to accept zero dollars from corporate PACs. FEC filings show he has held to that promise.

The Democrat's individual donors were more likely to contribute smaller amounts. Around half gave $500 or less.

Donations from people using ActBlue, an online fundraising platform, totaled $60,500. ActBlue solicits small online political donations.

Longjohn also received $5,000 from 314 Action, a nonprofit PAC that seeks to elect scientists in the United States.

Two-time 6th District Democratic nominee Paul Clements donated $4,000 to Longjohn. Clements planned to run in the Democratic primary, but failed to gain enough signatures to be placed on the ballot.

A larger share of Longjohn's funding came from the jurisdiction he would represent, but less so from Michigan.

The Center for Responsive Politics shows 43 percent of Longjohn's funding came from sources in Michigan, with 35 percent from inside the 6th District.

Independent spending

Michigan's 6th District was targeted early on by the Democrat and Republican House campaign committees. Other partisan groups have begun to pump negative ads into the airwaves in Southwest Michigan this month.

Independent groups spent $1.53 million on negative ads and nearly $2 million on communications supporting both candidates.

Change Now put up $1.38 million in support of Longjohn. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee contributed $125,000 to oppose Upton, while Sierra Club Political Committee spent $5,300 on attack ads against Upton.

MoveOn.org and Win Justice also contributed a combined $93,987 in support of Longjohn.

Meanwhile, Defending Main Street, the Michigan Republican Party, Clearpath Action, Inc. and No Labels Action, Inc. spent $463,000 to push Upton.

Defending Main Street has been particularly active with its $285,000 in ad buys, pushing a negative message about Longjohn's medical credentials.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, House Republicans' main campaign arm, is also airing attack ads against Longjohn in Southwest Michigan.