Michigan U.S. House contenders share first money hauls of midterm year

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Washington — The most competitive U.S. House midterm race in all of Michigan may be in suburban Detroit, at least according to the latest campaign finance filings released Wednesday.
A seat currently held by outgoing Republican U.S. Rep. John James is up for grabs on both sides of the aisle, as no dominant candidate has emerged in either the Democratic or GOP primary contests. James is mounting a bid to become governor of Michigan.
The Republican side of the race in Michigan’s 10th Congressional District, which covers southern Macomb County, and Rochester and Rochester Hills in Oakland County, tightened in the first quarter of 2026 after Army paratrooper Michael Bouchard narrowed a fundraising gap with attorney Robert Lulgjuraj.
Bouchard, son of the Oakland County sheriff of the same name, raised about $427,000 from Jan. 1 to March 31 and ended the quarter with roughly $847,000 in the bank. His campaign said in a press release that his latest haul gave him a “decisive early financial advantage.”
“I’m grateful for the support we’ve earned in just five months. We are building a campaign that is built to win both the primary and the general election. The mission now — earn this seat and carry forward the work of delivering for Southeast Michigan,” added Bouchard of Rochester Hills in a statement.
Lulgjuraj, a former Macomb County assistant prosecuting attorney, raised about $212,300, less than half of his opponent’s quarterly haul. But he was close to Bouchard in cash on hand with $822,000 as of March 31.
“We have raised the most money, earned the most in-district endorsements, and built the strongest grassroots support. That’s real momentum and it’s growing every day,” Lulgjuraj said Wednesday. “I’m from Macomb County. I understand the people here because I am one of them, and that’s why we’re going to win this race.”
In total, Lulgjuraj has raised about $1.2 million this cycle while Bouchard has raised $1 million, though the comparison is not apples-to-apples. Lulgjuraj entered the race in August, some three months before Bouchard returned from a deployment to Iraq and officially entered the race.
Bouchard also has outside backing from a super PAC supporting his candidacy. The Honor, Duty & Discipline PAC, which previously served as a committee to “draft” Bouchard into the race, raised $256,000 last year but no additional funds in 2026.
Individual contribution limits for the primary and general election could add another strategic dimension to the race as donors hit their $3,300 maximum for each contest. About 11% of Lulgjuraj’s fundraising so far is earmarked for general election use, compared to about 31% for Bouchard, according to information provided by the two campaigns.
On the Democratic side of the ledger, former Commerce Department attorney Eric Chung led the field with $335,700 raised in the first quarter and ended with $930,500 in the bank. The Sterling Heights candidate has led the Democratic field in fundraising since launching his bid last April, though two top opponents have remained active in the race.
Former Pontiac Mayor Tim Greimel raised about $245,000 ended with $634,000, while former prosecutor Christina Hines of Warren raised $221,500 and reported $312,000 in reserves.
Nationally, Democrats are targeting the 10th District seat as a key pickup opportunity after James and President Donald Trump both won the district by more than 6 percentage points in 2024.
7th District
For the second straight quarter, first-term Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett led the Michigan House delegation in fundraising as he looks to retain a highly competitive mid-Michigan seat that many handicappers rate as a toss-up.
Barrett of Charlotte posted a $1.25 million haul in the first quarter and finished the period with $2.8 million in the bank. Those totals give him a sizable edge over three would-be Democratic challengers competing in their party’s primary.
More: Out-of-state donors fueling U.S. House campaigns in Michigan swing districts
Matt Maasdam of Ann Arbor Township, a former Navy SEAL and White House aide to former President Barack Obama, raised about $704,000 and had $936,600 in the bank. He was the Democrats’ top fundraiser in the district last quarter after trailing Bridget Brink, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, in the final period of 2025.
Brink of Lansing reported a haul of more than $600,000 and remains the district’s top Democratic fundraiser for the cycle. She finished the quarter with about $1.3 million in reserves.
Climate activist William Lawrence of Lansing, meanwhile, brought in nearly $215,500 in the first quarter and had $351,089 cash on hand, according to his official filing.
Barrett defeated Democrat Curtis Hertel Jr. in 2024 by 3.7 percentage points when the seat was left empty because Democrat Elissa Slotkin ran for the Senate.
4th District
The only non-incumbent to raise more than $1 million in the first quarter of 2026 was Democratic state Sen. Sean McCann, who is running to unseat longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga in a west Michigan contest for the state’s 4th Congressional District.
McCann, D-Kalamazoo, brought in just over $1 million between Jan. 1 and March 31. By contrast, Huizenga, R-Holland, raised about $635,000 over the same period.
“Momentum continues to build behind Sean’s campaign to bring real representation to Southwest Michigan,” said McCann’s campaign manager, Simone Archer-Krauss, in a statement.
In-depth: Democratic foe raises $1M in bid to unseat GOP Rep. Bill Huizenga
Huizenga, who is seeking his ninth term in Congress, represents a swath of the west Michigan lakeshore in the state’s 4th Congressional District. He still has a sizable cash advantage over his Democratic challenger, ending the first quarter with about $1.9 million in the bank. McCann finished with about $1 million in reserves.
“We enter the campaign year in stronger shape than ever,” Huizenga said in a statement, “and (have) a nearly two-to-one financial advantage because people want common-sense leaders that are laser-focused on lowering the cost of gas, groceries, and housing for families, creating good-paying jobs, and bringing people together to get things done.”
President Donald Trump carried the 4th District by 5.5 percentage points in 2024 (Trump also won it in 2020 and 2016). Notably, Huizenga outperformed Trump at the top of the ticket by more than 6 percentage points in 2024.
Huizenga defeated Democratic challenger Jessica Swartz in 2024 by nearly 12 percentage points, 55% to 43.4%. He won reelection in 2022 also by 12 percentage points, outrunning the top of the ticket that year by nearly 13 percentage points.
8th District
In the Tri-Cities region, first-term U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City, continued her fundraising dominance over GOP challenger Amir Hassan of Flint.
McDonald Rivet brought in close to $1.1 million in the first quarter and reported about $4.4 million in the bank. That cash reserve is more than 10 times that of Hassan, a former federal law enforcement officer.
The Republican candidate raised about $164,600 in the period and closed with less than $66,000 in the bank.
Other contests
In Oakland County, the contest for Michigan’s heavily Democratic 11th District seat features no incumbent after Democratic U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, opted to run for U.S. Senate.
State Sen. Jeremy Moss of Bloomfield Township was the top fundraiser last quarter among Democratic primary contenders, bringing in about $201,400 and reporting about $572,000 in cash reserves.
Former Ford Motor Co. engineer Don Ufford of Bloomfield Township was next-best with $138,000 raised and about $347,000 in the bank, while attorney Aisha Farooqi of Sterling Heights raised $87,200 and finished with $50,800 on hand.
The winner of the district’s Democratic primary contest between those candidates likely will win a spot in Congress come November.
In another west Michigan contest, second-term U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten brought in about $404,000 last quarter and reported a war chest of about $1.2 million. She may need to deploy some of those reserves to keep her 3rd District seat in a contest with new Republican challenger Terri DeBoer, a longtime Grand Rapids meteorologist who launched her campaign in March.
DeBoer raised nearly $243,000 in the first month of her campaign.
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@GrantSchwab
Washington Bureau Chief Melissa Burke contributed.

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