John James Corruption & Ethics Billionaires & Big Business Michigan

Michigan Caps What a Party Can Give a Candidate for Governor at $750,000. John James Took $1.8 Million in DeVos-Funded Ads From His.

A brand-new committee whose only reported donors are Amway heirs Dan and Doug DeVos, at $2 million between them, gave $2 million to the Michigan Republican Party, which gave John James $1.8 million in TV ads — more than twice what state law lets a party give a candidate for governor. The same day it was disclosed, James said 'we need to get money out of politics.'

MAGA Report Cards · Oct 25, 2026

Michigan Caps What a Party Can Give a Candidate for Governor at $750,000. John James Took $1.8 Million in DeVos-Funded Ads From His. — Photo: Simon Schuster / Bridge Michigan

Michigan has a simple rule for its governor's race. A person can give a candidate for governor up to $8,325. A political party can give that candidate up to $750,000 for the whole election cycle.

John James, the Republican running for governor, just took $1.8 million from his party.

Campaign finance reports filed on October 23 show James' campaign received $1.8 million in TV ads from the Michigan Republican Party, The Detroit News reports. The money behind those ads traces back to two west Michigan businessmen, Amway heirs Dan and Doug DeVos.

How the money moved

The path is short, and it was built fast:

October 8: A new committee called Michigan Victory 2026 is formed. Bridge Michigan reports it was set up by the Republican Governors Association.
October 14: The Michigan Republican Party reports receiving $2 million from Michigan Victory 2026.
October 16: Two days later, the party gives James $1.8 million in the form of ads backing him, 18 days before Election Day.
So far, the only donors Michigan Victory 2026 has reported are Dan DeVos ($1.5 million) and Doug DeVos ($500,000).

There is no limit on what a donor can give a state party in Michigan. That is why the party cap matters. As The Detroit News explains, if parties could give candidates unlimited amounts, there would be a clear way around all of Michigan's contribution limits: give the party whatever you want, and the party passes it to the candidate.

Running the money through James' own campaign had one more payoff. Candidates get lower TV ad rates than other political groups, so running the ads through the campaign got the DeVos money the cheaper candidate rate.

James says the cap doesn't apply anymore

James' campaign says a June U.S. Supreme Court ruling makes this legal. That ruling struck down federal limits on how much parties can spend in coordination with candidates for Congress and president.

But federal law has something Michigan's doesn't: a limit on how much a donor can give the party in the first place. Michigan has no such limit. So if the state cap falls, there is no ceiling anywhere: a billionaire can give a party any amount, and the party can give it all to the candidate.

Even the Supreme Court's majority saw that problem. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that both sides of the Court "agree that the Government possesses an important interest in preventing circumvention of the base contribution limits."

Michigan election officials have not ruled that the cap is gone, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's website still lists it. Benson is also James' opponent in the governor's race.

Bob LaBrandt, a Republican operative who now advocates for campaign finance reform, told Bridge Michigan it "seems to me obvious on its face that that's a clear violation of the Michigan campaign finance law." Then he named the catch: "The remedy is always the problem." The Michigan Democratic Party filed a complaint within hours, but the Secretary of State's office is unlikely to resolve it until long after November 3.

"We need to get money out of politics"

On the same day these disclosures went public, James told a journalist that "we need to get money out of politics," according to a video The Detroit News cites.

A day later, he told Bridge Michigan: "We're gonna push for as many resources as we can using Supreme Court rulings and also the precedent and examples set by other states."

This is a pattern for James. He has taken nearly $50,000 from DTE, Consumers Energy's parent company and their employees while both utilities asked regulators to raise rates. He pitched repealing Michigan's marijuana tax at a fundraiser the industry threw him. Now $1.8 million in ads has come from two Amway heirs, routed through a committee that didn't exist until October 8.

Adding it up

Michigan law caps what a political party can give a candidate for governor at $750,000. John James' campaign took $1.8 million in ads from the Michigan Republican Party, paid for with money from a new committee whose only reported donors are Dan and Doug DeVos, who gave it $2 million. James argues a Supreme Court ruling about federal elections wipes out Michigan's cap, and the complaint against him likely won't be decided until after the election. The same day the money was disclosed, he said "we need to get money out of politics."