Michigan House candidate John James raises $1.5M in campaign’s first 60 days

Michigan House candidate John James announced on Thursday he had raised $1.5 million in the first 60 days of his campaign for the state’s 10th congressional district.

According to his campaign, over $850,000 of the haul was raised by his campaign committee John James for Congress. Meanwhile, over $691,000 was brought in by his joint fundraising committee.

The amount of money is impressive for a House challenger. James’s haul appears to have slightly eclipsed that of incumbent Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who is running for reelection in the state’s 7th congressional district. The Washington Examiner reported on Wednesday that Slotkin raised $1.3 million in the first three months of the year.

But James is running in the newly drawn 10th district, which includes parts of Macomb and Oakland counties. Five Democrats are currently running in that party’s primary for the district.

James launched his campaign on Jan. 31. Since then, he has been endorsed by former President Trump and was named to the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Young Guns” program.

He previously ran for Michigan’s Senate seat in 2018 and 2020, but lost to incumbent Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D) and Gary Peters (D), respectively.

“This is a people-focused, people-driven, people-always campaign,” James said in a statement on Thursday. “Their encouragement, input, time and financial support is what makes this campaign possible, and I promise to use my blessings and my real-world skills in the military and in supply chains to bring down the cost of living and keep our neighborhoods and our nation safe.”