Gavel Grab

Michigan Chief Justice Clifford Taylor continues to heavily outspend his Democratic challenger, Wayne County judge Diane Hathaway,  and the candidates and special interest groups have spent a total of about $4 million in an increasingly testy campaign, a report said.

According to a release from the Michigan Campaign Finance Network,  Taylor has raised $1.8 million, a record for Michigan, while Hathaway has raised  $370,000.

But that appears to just scratch the surface. MCFN, a Justice at Stake partner, has estimated that the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Michigan Democratic Party have spent almost $2 million on “independent” television advertising, in what the report called an “underground Supreme Court campaign.”

As Rich Robinson of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network noted, both groups can keep on spending:

Under Michigan’s campaign finance law, the Chamber and the Democratic Party don’t have to report the spending in their campaign finance reports because the advertisements don’t mention voting. The nonpartisan Michigan Campaign Finance Network collected the television ad records from the public files of Michigan’s commercial broadcasters and cable systems.

Neither does the Chamber or the Democratic Party have to disclose who gave them the money to pay for the ad time. This is in contrast to federal campaign finance law, where contributors to candidate-focused issue advertising are identified in the public record.

The Chamber and Democrats both have aired negative ads. One ad, available on the Chamber’s home page, insinuates that Hathaway gave a sex offender a soft sentence. The Democrats last week released an anti-Taylor hit ad dubbed the  “Sleeping Judge,” as well as a more recent ad linking President Bush and Taylor:
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For his part, Taylor has aired an ad rebutting allegations that he slept during a case and attacking Hathaway’s credibility.

On the surface, the big disparity in spending should translate into a landslide win for Justice Taylor, but the Detroit News said recent polling suggests the race could be close, with a huge group of voters still undecided:

Republicans also may have cause for concern on the state Supreme Court, a formally nonpartisan position in which both parties invest heavily. Chief Justice Cliff Taylor, a staunch conservative nominated by the Republican Party, gets support from just 19 percent of voters, tied with Circuit Court Judge Diane Hathaway, his Democratic-nominated challenger. The large number of undecided voters — 61 percent — means the race could change drastically in the final days of the campaign. But Taylor’s low level of support could be a trouble sign for an incumbent who has advertised heavily in the last two weeks.

Tags: Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Campaign Finance Network, Michigan Democratic Party, Michigan Supreme Court elections, Nasty Ads