Michigan voters support limiting corporate political contributions, new poll says 

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Michigan voters across party lines voiced strong support for limits on corporations and regulated monopolies’ political contributions according to a newly released poll from the Taking Back Our Power Coalition. 

The coalition launched earlier this year in support of increasing regulations on regulated monopolies like Michigan’s energy companies as well as companies seeking government contracts when it comes to their political contributions. 

State Rep. Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City) has already introduced two pieces of legislation seeking to block electrical or natural gas utilities or their political nonprofits or political action committees (PACs) arms from donating or contributing to political entities tied to current or former elected officials and candidates for office, or state or local party committees. 

According to Daniel Hopkins, communications director for Michigan United, one of the organizations making up the coalition, Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) is expected to introduce similar bills in the Senate while Sen. Rosemary Bayer (D-Beverly Hills) and Rep. Donavan McKinney (D-Detroit) are expected to introduce additional legislation banning political contributions from companies seeking government contracts. Hopkins said they expect to see final drafts from the Michigan Legislative Service Bureau “any day now.”

DTE Energy and Consumers Energy — Michigan’s largest energy companies — have been subject to increased scrutiny in recent years, with a report by the Illinois-based Citizens Utility Board ranking Michigan among the worst in the nation for overall utility performance.

“People across Michigan are fed up. They’re sick and tired of poor energy reliability, for rising costs. Michiganders pay the highest energy rates in the region, but deal with the worst service,” Wegela previously said during press conference discussing his legislation. 

“It is much cheaper for these corporations to spend money buying influence in the political process than it is for them to improve the quality of their services,” Wegela said.

While 102 of 148 sitting Michigan lawmakers have received campaign contributions from utility company political action committees (PACs) totaling more than $2 million, according to a report from Bridge Michigan, spokespeople for both DTE and Consumers Energy have maintained the company’s contributions are above board.

According to the survey, more than 81% of voters supported the proposals to bar regulated monopolies and corporations seeking government contractors from making political contributions, with 59% of voters surveyed expressing “strong support” and 22% saying they “somewhat support” the legislation. Overall, 9% of voters surveyed expressed opposition to the bills. 

The survey includes 700 voters from across the state, including oversamples of battleground districts for state representatives and African-American voters weighted to match statewide populations. 

While the economy and inflation ranked as the top issue for voters — with 74% of voter surveyed saying it was “very important” in determining their vote for state representative in November — the influence of money in politics remained a prime concern among 85% of voters, with 61% rating it as “very important” in determining their vote and 24% labeling it “somewhat important.” 

Additionally, the coalition’s proposals found support from 81% of voters in battleground districts, as well as 90% support among Democrats, 84% support among independents and 66% support from Republicans. 

Support for the proposal also grew after voters were exposed to messaging both in favor of and opposing the legislation with support in battleground districts growing to 90% and support among Republicans growing to 82%. 

Voters were particularly drawn to statements focused on accountability, corruption, and health care or prescription drugs. However the majority of voters surveyed were swayed by comments on energy costs, reliability, and actions to ban political spending by monopoly corporations and government contractors taken by states like Connecticut and Georgia. 

Arguments against the proposal failed to resonate with voters, with the most convincing statements — “Energy and utility companies have an obligation to their customers and employees to support candidates for public office that help them provide safe, reliable, affordable, and clean energy for the residents and businesses they serve every day,” and “This bill may be well-intentioned, but it is useless. If we try to prohibit corporate political giving, they will just find another way to move money and influence politics in their favor” — effectively swaying 18% of voters. 

The most effective message in support of the proposal — “Politicians are supposed to answer to the people who elect them, but when they rely on corporate contributors they end up answering to them instead. We need

to pass this reform to take back our power and make our elected leaders accountable to us again,” — was labeled “very convincing” by 71% of voters. 

When examining the impact of a candidate’s support for Taking Back Our Power’s proposal the survey found that Democrats held a slight edge in the race for state legislature, but Republicans performed slightly better in battleground districts with Republicans leading among voters 48% versus Democrats 47%. 

A strong majority of voters said they would be more likely to support a candidate who “publicly supports this proposal, despite pressure from big

corporations” with 47% saying they would be much more likely to support that candidate compared to 24% who said they’d be somewhat more likely to support them.

Additionally, a majority of Democrats, Republicans and undecided voters said they’d be more likely to support a candidate who backs the Taking Back Our Power bills, with 81% of people voting Democratic in legislative races, 62% of people voting Republican and 62% of undecided voters saying they would be much more, or somewhat more likely to support that candidate. 

A candidate’s support for the proposals also had a positive impact on voter motivation, with 60% of voters saying they’d be somewhat, or much more motivated to vote to support a candidate who opposed corporate spending in politics. 

This was particularly notable among those who vote less frequently with 63% of individuals who had voted two or fewer of the last four elections showing increased motivation, alongside 67% of voters who participated in the last three of four elections and 58% who had voted in all four previous elections. 

Two members of the state Senate — Bayer and Sen. Erika Geiss (D-Taylor) — have signed on to Taking Back Our Power’s pledge in support of banning monopoly corporations and government contract seekers from making political contributions.

Alongside Wegela and McKinney, 15 members of the state House have also signed on to the pledge including: Reps. Abraham Aiyash (D- Hamtramck) Kimberly Edwards (D-Eastpointe), Mai Xiong (D-Warren), Erin Byrnes (D-Dearborn), Noah Arbit (D-West Bloomfield), Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor), Jaime Churches (D-Wyandotte) James Desana (R-Carleton), Jimmie Wilson Jr. (D-Ypsilanti), Felicia Brabec (D-Pittsfield Twp.), Carrie Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor), Emily Dievendorf (D-Lansing), Rachel Hood (D-Grand Rapids), Betsy Coffia (D-Traverse City) and Jenn Hill (D-Marquette). 

All of these representatives, save for Aiyash, Hood and Brabec, are up for reelection in November. 

Emma White, the owner of Emma White Research LLC. which conducted the survey, described the policies as a bit of a sleeper issue. 

“I think money in politics in general, that is a thing that is a concern for voters that is not always brought up,” White said.