Mid-Michigan's 7th Congressional District has become the most expensive U.S. House race in the nation for political advertising, with spending topping $61 million.
That's $11 million more than the next most expensive House race, according to an analysis of AdImpact data conducted by WKAR News on Wednesday.
The total covers spending by candidates and outside groups throughout the 2025-26 election cycle, including the Democratic primary and the general election contest between Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett and his Democratic challenger, William Lawrence.
Both candidates agree on one thing: The amount of money being spent is outrageous.
"It's absurd how much it costs in politics today," said Barrett, of Charlotte, who is seeking his second term. "A lot is direct spending by campaigns. A lot is outside superPACs that candidates can't even coordinate with or have any control over.
"It's just become outrageous."
Lawrence, a first-time candidate from Lansing, was equally critical.
"This is outrageous. We've got to get money out of politics," he said.
Where the money is going
AdImpact reports that Democrats and their supporters have spent more than $33 million on advertising in the district this election cycle, compared with more than $27 million by Republicans and their supporters.
The competitive Democratic primary helped drive up the total. Lawrence faced two opponents who outspent him. About $17 million went toward advertising during the primary, while Barrett faced no Republican opponent.
Looking only at the general election, Michigan's 7th District ranks fourth nationally in advertising spending, at about $44 million. That puts the race roughly $3 million behind New York's 13th Congressional District, the nation's leader in general election ad spending.
The new figures represent another significant jump since WKAR News reported $51.5 million in spending on Oct. 8.
Lawrence said a surge in Republican spending during the final weeks of the campaign is helping drive the latest increase.
"Trump put in another $6 million last week," Lawrence told WKAR News, "and it looks like we're being outspent by about $5-or-$6 million on TV in these last two weeks, thanks to the infinite dark-money cannon on the Republican side."
The Safety and Affordability Political Action Committee, which is affiliated with President Donald Trump's political network, has spent nearly $6.5 million in support of Barrett through Oct. 20, according to AdImpact.
The largest individual spender in the race is the Republican-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund, at just over $13 million, followed by the Democrats' House Majority PAC at more than $12.1 million.
Together, the Congressional Leadership Fund and Safety and Affordability PAC have spent about $19.5 million, compared with $12.1 million from House Majority PAC.
The candidates' own campaigns account for a smaller share of the spending. Barrett's campaign has spent about $3.3 million on general election advertising, while Lawrence's campaign has spent a little more than $3 million, including spending during the Democratic primary.
The Lansing media market has received the largest share of advertising dollars, at $32.4 million, followed by the Detroit market at nearly $19.3 million.
Both candidates want changes, but disagree on how
Despite their agreement that campaign spending has gotten out of hand, Barrett and Lawrence have different ideas about how to address it.
Lawrence supports overturning the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision, which struck down restrictions on independent political spending by corporations and unions.
He also wants to establish public financing for political campaigns.
"Public financing is the cleanest and most sensible way to administer these elections," Lawrence said. "If you can show a minimum threshold of genuine grassroots support, you get access to a pot of money, and every candidate gets the same funds."
Lawrence said he supports making public financing mandatory through congressional action.
Barrett has introduced campaign finance reform proposals aimed at limiting spending and reducing the influence of outside money.
"I actually introduced the American Promise Plan," Barrett said, which would "allow states and Congress to set reasonable campaign finance limits."
The proposal includes a constitutional amendment that would give Congress and state governments greater authority to regulate political spending.
Barrett has also introduced the Campaign Accountability and Parity Act, which would cap annual spending by congressional campaigns at the average amount House members receive to operate their congressional offices.
House members receive an annual allowance of about $2 million each to run their offices.
"The amount of spending you have to actually represent your constituents is one-tenth of what it is costing in some of the ultra-competitive races across the country," Barrett observed.