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Non-profit

Road to Michigan’s Future

Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(4)

Formation:

2020
Location:

Michigan
Type:

Campaign Donor

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Road to Michigan’s Future is a 501(c)(4) “dark money” group that supports the policies of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D). 1 It registered with the state of Michigan on Jan. 15, 2020. 2

In January 2022, Collin Anderson at the Washington Free Beacon criticized Gov. Whitmer for what he perceived as her hypocrisy, seeing as she was receiving support from a so-called “dark money” group while pledging to make Michigan’s government “more transparent” and condemning “money in politics.” 3

Background

Gretchen Whitmer, the 49th governor of Michigan, assumed office on January 1, 2019, for a term lasting until December 31, 2022. Whitmer previously served in Michigan’s House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006 and its State Senate from 2006 to 2015. In 2011, Whitmer became the state Senate’s Democratic minority leader. Due to term limits, Whitmer did not seek re-election in 2014 and instead became the prosecutor of Ingham County, Michigan, in 2016. 4

In Jan. 2020, Gov. Whitmer gave a state of the state address in which she announced that she would be increasing road funding through the State Transportation Commission by $3.5 billion through bond purchases. Road to Michigan’s Future was created two weeks before this speech and had at first purchased almost $750,000 in airtime to promote the plan. About half of the ads were aimed at Detroit TV stations, where many of the repairs were set to take place, and others were broadcast to Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Flint. 5 According to a 2022 article from the Detroit News, Road to Michigan eventually spent $1.4 million on ads. 6

Mark Fisk, the spokesman for Whitmer’s campaign committee, confirmed that Whitmer was involved with the fundraising efforts “as she is legally permitted to do.” 7 According to the Detroit News, the phone number on Road to Michigan’s Future tax filings went to the voicemail of Heather Ricketts, Whitmer’s campaign treasurer. A spokesperson for Whitmer’s campaign at the time said that Ricketts was merely an “independent contractor” for Road to Michigan’s Future. 8

Funding

Road to Michigan’s Future is a 501(c)(4) group and does not disclose its donors since it is not legally required to do so. The “dark money” group raised $6.5 million in 2020 to support Gretchen Whitmer, a total that is over twice as much as groups supporting her predecessor, former Gov. Rick Snyder (R), raised. 9 Road to Michigan’s Future received at least $100,000 donations from 23 different contributors. One contributor gave $857,000, another gave $400,000. 10

The group also gave large sums to other organizations, such as an $800,000 grant to the Democratic Party-aligned 21st Century Fund and a $750,000 grant to Keep Michigan Safe, which defended Whitmer’s emergency powers against Unlock Michigan’s attempt to limit them. Road to Michigan’s Future also gave a $488,000 grant to the Voting Project, a voter mobilization group. 11

Leadership

According to tax filings obtained by the Detroit News, Road to Michigan’s Future board members were revealed to be Richard Wiener, former chief of staff for previous Democratic Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm; John Cherry, the Lieutenant Governor of Michigan under Granholm; and Granholm’s budget director Robert Emerson. 12

References

  1. Simon D. Schuster. “A Nonprofit with Unknown Funding is Spending $750,000 to Promote Whitmer’s Road Plan.” Michigan Campaign Finance Network, 31 January 2020. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://mcfn.org/node/7388/a-nonprofit-with-unknown-funding-is-spending-750-000-to-promote-whitmer-s-road-plan.
  2. Simon D. Schuster. “A Nonprofit with Unknown Funding is Spending $750,000 to Promote Whitmer’s Road Plan.” Michigan Campaign Finance Network, 31 January 2020. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://mcfn.org/node/7388/a-nonprofit-with-unknown-funding-is-spending-750-000-to-promote-whitmer-s-road-plan.
  3. Collin Anderson. “Gretchen Whitmer’s Dark Money Hypocrisy.” The Washington Free Beacon, 19 January 2022. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://freebeacon.com/elections/gretchen-whitmers-dark-money-hypocrisy/.
  4. “Gretchen Whitmer.” BallotPedia. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://ballotpedia.org/Gretchen_Whitmer.
  5. Simon D. Schuster. “A Nonprofit with Unknown Funding is Spending $750,000 to Promote Whitmer’s Road Plan.” Michigan Campaign Finance Network, 31 January 2020. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://mcfn.org/node/7388/a-nonprofit-with-unknown-funding-is-spending-750-000-to-promote-whitmer-s-road-plan.
  6. Craig Mauger. “Pro-Whitmer nonprofit beats pro-Snyder groups by raising $6.5M in one year.” The Detroit News, 17 January 2022. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2022/01/17/pro-gretchen-whitmer-nonprofit-beats-pro-snyder-groups-raising-6-million-2020-tax-filing/6554927001/.
  7. Craig Mauger. “Pro-Whitmer nonprofit beats pro-Snyder groups by raising $6.5M in one year.” The Detroit News, 17 January 2022. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2022/01/17/pro-gretchen-whitmer-nonprofit-beats-pro-snyder-groups-raising-6-million-2020-tax-filing/6554927001/.
  8. Craig Mauger. “Pro-Whitmer nonprofit beats pro-Snyder groups by raising $6.5M in one year.” The Detroit News, 17 January 2022. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2022/01/17/pro-gretchen-whitmer-nonprofit-beats-pro-snyder-groups-raising-6-million-2020-tax-filing/6554927001/.
  9. Craig Mauger. “Pro-Whitmer nonprofit beats pro-Snyder groups by raising $6.5M in one year.” The Detroit News, 17 January 2022. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2022/01/17/pro-gretchen-whitmer-nonprofit-beats-pro-snyder-groups-raising-6-million-2020-tax-filing/6554927001/.
  10. Craig Mauger. “Pro-Whitmer nonprofit beats pro-Snyder groups by raising $6.5M in one year.” The Detroit News, 17 January 2022. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2022/01/17/pro-gretchen-whitmer-nonprofit-beats-pro-snyder-groups-raising-6-million-2020-tax-filing/6554927001/.
  11. Craig Mauger. “Pro-Whitmer nonprofit beats pro-Snyder groups by raising $6.5M in one year.” The Detroit News, 17 January 2022. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2022/01/17/pro-gretchen-whitmer-nonprofit-beats-pro-snyder-groups-raising-6-million-2020-tax-filing/6554927001/.
  12.  Craig Mauger. “Pro-Whitmer nonprofit beats pro-Snyder groups by raising $6.5M in one year.” The Detroit News, 17 January 2022. Accessed 31 January 2022. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2022/01/17/pro-gretchen-whitmer-nonprofit-beats-pro-snyder-groups-raising-6-million-2020-tax-filing/6554927001/.
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