Why All Four U.S. Senate Candidates Can Declare Victory After Finance Deadline

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 10/21/2025) Last week's campaign finance numbers gave a little something for every campaign to be happy about.  

The four major-party candidates – U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), Abdul EL-Sayed and former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers all reported raising more than $1.7 million for the quarter through various means. Everybody has at least $1.45 million in cash on hand. 

For the reporting period between July 1 and Sept. 30, the three Democrats and one Republican all reported at least 1,250 unique donors. Less than 50 percent of all campaigns' contributors are from out of state. 

Yet, all four of the campaigns can declare some level of victory as they're working to get an edge for a primary election that's less than 10 months away.  Below is how everybody can declare a win with this filing. 

Stevens Won Because  

She raised the most money. The four-term House member raised $1.9 million in total receipts for the third quarter, a bit more than El-Sayed ($1.775 million) and McMorrow ($1.7 million).  

More significantly, she has amassed $4.7 million for the entire campaign season because she kicked in $1.5 million leftover from her old congressional account. Stevens is also not too proud to take political action committee (PAC) money, which netted her another $106,055.  

Among the Democratic field, she’s sitting on $2.6 million in cash on hand, which considering her sizable payroll, isn’t a small accomplishment.  

More dollars today means more TV and streaming ads tomorrow.  

McMorrow Won Because  

The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) only requires that those giving $200 or more have their contributions publicly reported.  

Anyway you slice it, McMorrow had more people open up their wallets and purses for her, which is a sign of not only potential, but future votes . . . if you consider that people will vote for the candidate for whom they write a check.  

By my count, McMorrow had 1,459 contributors of at least $200, of which 678 (46.4%) live in Michigan. El-Sayed has 1,253 contributors of which 508 (40.5%) live in Michigan. Stevens has 1,285 contributors, 396 (31.1%) from Michigan.  

Rogers had 1,248 contributors, of which 521 (41.7%) hail from Michigan.  

And these are the contributions McMorrow was required to report. The McMorrow camp is claiming 50,000 people gave it money this year. It’s impossible to verify that, but here’s why it’s believable.  

McMorrow reported $901,845 in contributions as “unitemized," meaning these were donations of less than $200. By comparison, El-Sayed reported $412,387, Rogers $309,180 and Stevens $250,869. 

These numbers aren't right, but let's say all of these 50,000 contributors gave $18. That's $900,000. 

If 46 percent of these 50,000 are from Michigan, that's 23,000 McMorrow votes in the bank. 

Rogers Won Because   

He has $2.7 million in the bank, more than Stevens, and he doesn’t need to spend a dime of it until next summer.   

Since Rogers doesn’t have a competitive primary race, he’s able to take advantage of a joint arrangement with the D.C. Senate Republicans that gives him access to a bunch more money he can stockpile and spend in August, September and October 2026, when it really matters.  

This quarter, he spent 39 percent of what he raised, a lower percentage than any of his Democratic opponents. The lower burn rate helps keep money around, too.  

El-Sayed Won Because   

He stayed competitive with the rest of the field. He raised more than McMorrow. His cash on hand and burn rate is a lot better than McMorrow’s, too. He raised more from Michigan voters than Stevens and can still claim he didn't have to sell his soul to do it. His number of contributors was about where Stevens and Rogers were.  

Winning by not losing works for El-Sayed. He’s easily the race’s most progressive candidate, and as long as it doesn’t look like he’s taking on water, endorsements from progressive groups like the Michigan Democratic Party’s Progressive Caucus will keep rolling in.  

And as long as Stevens and McMorrow keep their attacks on each other (which they’re doing), El-Sayed only needs to run a fiscally disciplined campaign (which he’s doing) to win the primary.  

Other interesting facts from the third quarter filing: 

 - Stevens is the only candidate to hold any debt at $138,000, which makes up 3 percent of her total receipts. 

 - Of Stevens' contributors, 7.3 percent came from California. McMorrow had 13.3 percent. 

 - El-Sayed reported a combined $13,500 from the Progressive Voters of America, A New Policy PAC and No Dem Left Behind PAC. That works out to less than ½ percent of his total receipts. 

 - At least 81.7 percent of El-Sayed's receipts are traceable back to ActBlue. For McMorrow, that percentage was at least 76 percent. 

 - Of the 1,253 people who gave to El-Sayed this quarter, 819 (65%) had Middle Eastern or ethnic Asian names. A total of 64 people (5 percent) were named Mohammad (or Muhammad). Of those with Middle Eastern names, 62 percent were from Michigan. 

 - Among those notables to give to McMorrow were former Department of Human Services Director Marianne Udow-Phillips, former MSU Trustee Nancy Schlichting, former Rep. Pam Byrnes and Genesee County Treasurer and former Sen. Deb Cherry and prominent Detroit pastor Horace Sheffield III. 

 - Rep. Matt Longjohn (D-Portage) gave to El-Sayed. 

 - Total number of contributors from the city of Detroit: El-Sayed 13, McMorrow 12, Stevens 10, Rogers 3. 

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