Show Us The Money

Democrat Benjamin Ambrose has raised $85,094 in his bid for Michigan's 2nd U.S. House District and spent $62,840 of it, leaving $21,868 on hand as of July 15, according to his campaign's filings with the Federal Election Commission. Ambrose is challenging Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), who has held his seat since 2015 and faces no primary opposition. Ambrose is spending faster than he is raising. He took in roughly $31,000 between April and mid-July while spending roughly $38,000 over the same stretch.

Contributors

Nearly all of Ambrose's money came from people rather than institutions. Individual donors gave $84,844, of which $65,410 was itemized, and $19,434 arrived in amounts small enough to fall below the reporting threshold. A single $250 contribution from another political committee is the only organizational money in the filing.

Ambrose has taken no loans, put none of his own money into the campaign, and received nothing from party committees. Ambrose for Congress, the principal campaign committee he registered in June 2025, carries no debt and has issued no refunds.

Candidate Rankings

Ambrose is competing in the Tuesday, Aug. 4 Democratic primary against Jamie Hill, a physician assistant and former paramedic, and Clyde Welford, a Lake County commissioner. The Detroit News endorsed Ambrose in June.

Whoever emerges from the Democratic primary inherits hostile ground. The Cook Partisan Voter Index rates the district R+15, the 69th most Republican seat in the country, and Moolenaar beat his Democratic challenger there comfortably in 2024. None of the Democrats in this year's field have raised anything approaching what the incumbent has banked.

Incumbents vs. Challengers

Through the same July 15 close, Moolenaar reported $1,652,235 in cycle-to-date receipts, $1,028,618 in disbursements, and $1,905,561 in cash on hand. Ambrose is working with about 1% of that cash.

The more telling number is where the money comes from. Moolenaar has collected $548,883 from other political committees, roughly a third of everything he has raised, the kind of institutional support that follows a member who chairs the House Select Committee on China and sits on Appropriations.

That is the practical difference between the two campaigns. Moolenaar started this cycle with $1.28 million already in the bank and has added to it while spending freely. Ambrose started at zero, has spent 74% of everything he has brought in, and still has a primary to win.

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