Kristen McDonald Rivet has raised the most in this race — $6,922,879, ahead of Thomas J. Smith at $561,097. Kristen McDonald Rivet has taken the most PAC and party-committee money: $1,892,266. On AIPAC: no candidate in this race has an AIPAC-linked record in FEC filings.
This is a closely divided district where either party can win. Nobody in this race has donations linked to AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group, according to available records. The November ballot lists 5 candidates: one Democrat, one Republican, one independent, one Libertarian and one Green.
Major issues facing Michigan, based on 2025–2026 reporting. Compare them with what each candidate says they focus on below.
FEC campaign finance data through Oct 14, 2026. Campaign dollars, by source.
| Kristen McDonald Rivet D | Thomas J. Smith R | C. Mia Pettus L | Jim Casha G | Kathy Goodwin I | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raised | $6.9M | $561K | — | — | — |
| Individuals | $4.4M64% | $20K4% | — | — | — |
| PACs & parties | $1.9M27% | $16K3% | — | — | — |
| Self-funded | $0 | $8K1% | — | — | — |
| Other | $627K9% | $518K92% | — | — | — |
| AIPAC-linked* | — | — | — | — | — |
| Outside spending† | — | — | — | — | — |
* AIPAC-linked money is already counted in the rows above — it flags the pro-Israel share, not extra money.
† Independent spending on ads for or against a candidate. It never goes to their campaign.
“Individuals” covers both small-dollar (under $200) and large donors.
Every donor ranked by how much they gave, from the candidate’s own FEC filings — individuals, PACs, and party committees all in one list. Expand a candidate to see theirs, then tap any name to learn more about the donor.
Why are so many gifts exactly $10,000? That’s the legal maximum a PAC can give one candidate for the whole cycle — $5,000 for the primary plus $5,000 for the general — so many PACs give the max. Individuals can give up to $3,500 per election.
Showing the 50 biggest of 2476 donors. The other 2426 gave $4.3M combined.
Plus $388K from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.
These figures come from the candidate’s own itemized FEC reports (2026 cycle, through the coverage date above), with amendments applied and refunds netted. Joint fundraising transfers are left out of the ranking: they’re pass-throughs, and the individual donations behind them are listed above. Bank interest, vendor refunds, and other non-donation receipts are excluded. Donor names are as reported — the same person can appear twice if their name was recorded differently. Independent spending on ads is never included here — see the Outside spending column.
Kristen McDonald Rivet has raised more: $6,922,879, ahead of Thomas J. Smith at $561,097.
Kristen McDonald Rivet has taken the most money from PACs and party committees: $1,892,266. Thomas J. Smith has taken $16,000.
No candidate in this race has an AIPAC-linked record in FEC filings.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
October 23, 2026
Trump-aligned super PACs spend millions defending once-safe Republican House seats
MAGA Inc., Trump's main super PAC, reported $300.5M in disbursements through Oct 14 and still held $164.3M, routing $200M to No Going Back PAC and $25M to Safety & Affordability PAC. Safety & Affordability is defending Republicans in AZ-01, ME-02, WI-03, NC-01, OH-10, PA-08, OH-09 and MI-07; No Going Back has spent ~$5M each in MI-04 and NC-11, $14.4M combined in FL-14 and FL-25, and roughly $79M across the MI, OH, NH and NC Senate races. Meanwhile the Congressional Leadership Fund has stopped advertising in IA-01, NJ-07, MI-08 and OH-01.
Source: CNBC (via Kalkine reprint) →October 13, 2026
Congressional Leadership Fund pulls $10 million from four House races, cutting off Miller-Meeks and Kean
The Congressional Leadership Fund, the GOP's top House super PAC, confirmed Oct. 13 it is pulling about $10 million in ad reservations from four districts: it is ending advertising support for Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-1) and Tom Kean Jr. (NJ-7), and abandoning efforts to unseat Reps. Greg Landsman (OH-1) and Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-8). A spokesperson said Iowa money will be reallocated to the more competitive IA-2 and IA-3. It is the first time a major national Republican group has abandoned a GOP incumbent this cycle; Trump-aligned super PACs are also diverting money from the Kean and Miller-Meeks races.
Source: Des Moines Register →October 13, 2026
GOP triage: Congressional Leadership Fund abandons four House races, redirects into 16 others
The Congressional Leadership Fund, the leading House Republican super PAC, canceled ad spending in four races (Iowa's 1st, New Jersey's 7th, Ohio's 1st and Michigan's 8th) and increased investment in 16 other races from Texas to Pennsylvania. The money being pulled, $13.3 million per the AP's tally, was redirected to defend incumbents including Brian Fitzpatrick, Monica De La Cruz, Rob Wittman and Bill Huizenga, and from Iowa's 1st into the 2nd and 3rd districts. It is the first time this cycle a major national GOP group has abandoned a Republican incumbent. The AP also reported a Trump-allied super PAC cutting back in the Las Vegas-area race (NV-03) and a DCCC $17 million fundraising drive to exploit the openings.
Source: Associated Press →