Anti-McConnell fundraiser raises about $1.4M for Peters

A fundraising campaign to defeat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has raised about $1.4 million for the campaign of U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) since the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The “Get Mitch or Die Trying” fundraiser, created by the progressive group Crooked Media helmed by President Barack Obama campaign veterans, has raised more than $19 million total so far for Democrats, which is split evenly across 13 Senate races in key swing states.

Notably absent from the list of candidates receiving support from the fundraiser is Amy McGrath, who is running against McConnell in Kentucky.

McConnell last week did a $1,000-per-person virtual fundraiser for Peters’ GOP opponent, John James. 

Democratic donors shattered numerous records in the hours after Ginsburg’s passing.

More than $6.2 million was sent to Democratic candidates through ActBlue in the 9 p.m. hour Friday, the biggest single-hour haul since the site launched 16 years ago, which was then immediately surpassed in the 10 p.m. hour with another $6.3 million raised.

The site has seen $95 million in donations between the time Ginsburg’s death was announced on Friday and Sunday morning.

Peters said in a statement Saturday that the Senate should not confirm a new Supreme Court justice until after the next presidential term begins, echoing a rule McConnell and Senate Republicans created in 2016 to block Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland.

“Acting on a lifetime appointment to our nation’s highest court with 45 days until Election Day would further divide the Senate and our country — and voting is already underway or will soon begin, including in Michigan,” Peters said. “Voters should have their voices heard, and there should not be a Supreme Court nomination until the next presidential term begins.”

https://michiganadvance.com/2020/09/17/gop-senate-nominee-john-james-america-is-close-to-a-civil-war/

James said in a tweet Friday that “our country lost a dedicated public servant in Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was a pioneer & the first Jewish woman to serve on the court.”

James did not comment on whether the Senate should confirm a Supreme Court nominee before the next presidential term.

James has outraised Peters in four straight quarters, raising $6.4 million in the last period ending on June 30. Peters took in $5.2 million. He has more cash on hand with $11.6 million in the bank, while James has $9.2 million. Outside groups already have spent more than $20 million on the race.

The next fundraising quarter ends Sept. 30. The Cook Report says the seat “leans” Democratic.