Perry Johnson Spends $100 A Vote In Losing Effort

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 09/03/2026) Perry Johnson unloaded $32,908,084 of his own money on his unsuccessful 2026 gubernatorial primary bid, according to the campaign's post-primary finance report due today, making it the most expensive self-funded gubernatorial primary campaign in modern Michigan history.

By raw dollars and after adjusting previous campaigns for inflation, Johnson spent more of his personal fortune on a gubernatorial primary than any Michigan candidate for whom digital campaign finance records are available going back to the 1990s.

The closest comparison is 2006 Republican nominee Dick DeVos, who had put $16.13 million of his own money into his campaign by the post-primary reporting deadline. That's about $26.5 million in today's dollars. DeVos was uncontested in the Republican primary.

Johnson received 328,194 votes, meaning that he spent $100.27 from his own pocket for every person who voted for him in the primary, which is nearly twice that of any other self-funded gubernatorial candidate in at least the last 30 years.

The other five self-funded gubernatorial candidates MIRS tracked accounted for, on average, about 75% of the money raised by their campaigns.

Johnson received contributions from only seven individuals throughout his campaign. They gave a combined $2,224, which means Johnson took care of 99.993% of the final total raised for his campaign.

Johnson spent $7,335,422 in 2022 in his failed effort to get on the ballot as a gubernatorial candidate. Federal Election Commission figures show Johnson spent $25,561,653 on his longshot presidential bid in 2024.

Johnson dropped $65,805,159 into the three campaigns combined, which is more than the 2025 gross domestic product of the small island nation of Tuvalu.

The amount Johnson spent on the campaign is “unbelievable,” said Bill Ballenger, editor of the Ballenger Report, but noted that today's campaign spending has ballooned in the major races, citing the U.S. Senate primary as an example.

“It's obviously a staggering set of statistics, but as hard as it is to believe, this record will be broken and it may come sooner than later," Ballenger said.

Other self-funded gubernatorial campaigns MIRS tracked included:

MICHIGAN'S BIG GUBERNATORIAL SELF-FUNDERS

Perry Johnson — 2026

Personal money: $32.91M

Share of campaign funds: 99.993%

Primary votes: 328,194

Personal spending per vote: $100.27

Shri Thanedar — 2018

Personal money, adjusted for inflation: $13.70M

Share of campaign funds: 82.4%

Primary votes: 200,645

Personal spending per vote: $68.30

Dick DeVos — 2006

Personal money, adjusted for inflation: $26.55M

Share of campaign funds: 74.8%

Primary votes: 581,404

Personal spending per vote: $45.65

Mike Cox — 2026

Personal money: $5.29M

Share of campaign funds: 68.0%

Primary votes: 121,261

Personal spending per vote: $43.64

Kevin Rinke — 2022

Personal money, adjusted for inflation: $9.00M

Share of campaign funds: 76.4%

Primary votes: 236,306

Personal spending per vote: $38.09

Rick Snyder — 2010

Personal money, adjusted for inflation: $9.36M

Share of campaign funds: 75.5%

Primary votes: 381,588

Personal spending per vote: $24.52

Note: DeVos was uncontested in the 2006 Republican primary. Inflation-adjusted figures are expressed in 2026 dollars using the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator.