Michigan: Outside group spending $377,000 to boost Draves for Kildee seat in Congress

DETROIT — A group dedicated to electing Republican women is spending big in a key mid-Michigan congressional district to boost U.S. House candidate Mary Draves in the primary contest in which she's facing Paul Junge.

Five weeks out from the election, Winning For Women is putting over $377,000 behind an ad airing in the Flint media market to boost Draves over the July 4 holiday week and at least two weeks beyond that, according to ad tracking data. The super political action committee endorsed Draves last month.

"She'll fight to lower everyday costs for Michigan families, partner with President Trump to secure the border and finish the wall. And just like President Trump, Mary Draves will stand up to China's aggression," the voiceover says in the ad. "Mary Draves is the conservative choice for mid-Michigan."

The positive ad follows a volley of attack ads in the GOP primary between Draves and Junge of Grand Blanc Township. Junge has claimed Draves, a former Dow Inc. executive from Midland, isn't a conservative, and she's targeted his investments in China.

Junge has spent at least $788,000 on airtime and reservations, and Draves has spent at least $469,000, according to tracking data from the firm AdImpact. Junge's campaign didn't respond Monday to a request to comment on the new super PAC spending.

They are hoping to win the open seat of retiring U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, in the 8th District, which covers Genesee, Bay and Saginaw counties and portions of Midland County. Anthony Hudson of Grand Blanc Township is also seeking the GOP nomination.

The fight for Kildee's open seat is expected to be among the most competitive U.S. House races nationwide in November. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has rated it a tossup since Kildee announced his retirement last fall.

Junge started the primary with an edge in that he has unsuccessfully ran twice for Congress previously. He was the GOP nominee in the 8th District race in 2022, losing to Kildee by more than 10 percentage points.

The outside ad spending comes as Draves' campaign this week announced her campaign fundraising for the three-month period ending Sunday totaled over $520,000 ― a significant haul for her first quarter.

Draves put in $250,000 of that total herself, according to campaign manager Eric Harpootian. He noted the $270,000 that Draves raised from contributions is more than what Junge has gotten through donations so far in the cycle, about $100,000.

Junge hasn't yet released his total for the second quarter but he's largely self-funded his campaign with a $1 million loan, according to federal disclosure reports.

"Achieving this milestone without reliance on a family trust fund shows the power of grassroots backing and a shared vision for practical and effective leadership," Harpootian said in a statement.

Winning for Women last month endorsed Draves among about a half dozen candidates for U.S. House, saying it's "excited to help ensure she has the resources needed to win in both the primary and general elections."

The group says last cycle it raised $17 million to help elect GOP women. Last month, W2W touted a primary win in North Dakota by Julie Fedorchak for the at-large U.S. House seat there.

Winning for Women had spent $60,000 on get-out-the-vote text messages in the final weeks of Fedorchak's campaign. The seat is open because Rep. Kelly Armstrong is running for North Dakota governor.

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