The Michigan Democratic Party on Thursday filed a campaign finance complaint against Doug Lloyd, the Michigan Republican Party nominee for Michigan attorney general, alleging that his pre-convention finance report was knowingly both late and inaccurate.
Lloyd’s campaign, however, told Michigan Advance that the Michigan Department of State’s Bureau of Elections provided the campaign with an incorrect deadline, causing the discrepancy.
A spokesperson for the Michigan Department of State confirmed that the department had received the complaint and that they are in the process of reviewing it, but could not provide further comments until the review and investigation are resolved.
Under the Michigan Campaign Finance Act, pre-election reports — including those in the lead-up to each party’s nominating convention, which will take place for the Republicans on Aug. 22 — are due 11 days prior to the event, making Lloyd’s filing due on Aug. 11. The complaint filed by the state’s Democratic Party notes, in line with online records in Michigan’s campaign finance database, that Lloyd filed his report a day late, on Aug. 12.
The act, as published online by the Michigan legislature, does clearly state that, “a preelection campaign statement must be filed not later than the eleventh day before an election.” The closing date for a campaign statement filed under that section is the 16th day before the election, which aligns with an Aug. 11 deadline, and an Aug. 6 close of books date.
Additionally, in what the complaint calls a “much more egregious” violation, Lloyd’s report shows that its latest reported contribution is on Feb. 28, 2026, and its last reported expenditure is on Jan. 17, 2026. The report is listed as covering the period of time between Jan. 1 and Aug. 6, 2026.
“The report filed by Lloyd thus states — entirely implausibly — that the Republican Party’s candidate for Michigan Attorney General has not received a single contribution in over six months, and has not made an expenditure in nearly seven months,” the complaint, submitted by Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel, said.
However, according to Keith Schipper, a spokesperson for the Lloyd campaign, the filing was submitted late and partially incomplete because of incorrect information that the campaign was provided by an employee of the Bureau of Elections.
“Yesterday we learned that the date the Bureau of Elections told us differed from the date they posted on their website,” Schipper said in a statement. “We received no communication when they posted the different date. Once we realized we were misled, we scrambled to submit a partial report yesterday and will amend it shortly.”
An email provided by Schipper shows an exchange between the treasurer of Lloyd’s campaign and staff members at the Bureau of Elections asking for clarity on the filing deadlines for the Aug. 22 convention.
A Bureau of Elections staff member responded to that inquiry, writing that for a convention on that date, the pre-convention report was due on Aug. 16 and the close of books for the report was Aug. 11.
“Unfortunately this is just another failure from the Department of State regarding campaign finance,” Schipper continued. “Now, they have been caught sharing incorrect information with campaigns that are trying to follow the law and report on time. It is inexcusable and we expect the Department of State to admit their mistake when they receive this complaint.”
The complaint goes on to detail four campaign events held between late January and mid-July, all of which were promoted on Lloyd’s campaign social media, none of which are listed in the report as contributions from the individuals named. The report also does not include any contributions from WinRed, the online platform through which Lloyd has solicited online donations through his website and sold campaign merchandise.
Hertel also noted that the report only lists eight expenditures for the entire year, and does not include expenditures for campaign signs that Lloyd has promoted, which state that they are “Paid for by Doug Lloyd for MI Attorney General.”
Due to these errors, and alleging that they were made knowingly, Hertel asks the Bureau of Elections to assess fines against the campaign.
“Doug Lloyd is running to be Michigan’s chief law enforcement officer. Like any other candidate for office, he is required to follow Michigan’s campaign finance law. And that law’s requirements relating to reporting exist for a reason,” he writes in the complaint. “Michigan residents, when they make a decision at the ballot box, deserve to see who is funding campaigns—and how campaigns are spending their funds. By filing a late report rife with obvious omissions and underreporting, Lloyd has thumbed his nose at the Campaign Finance Act’s requirements.”
Hertel added in a statement that the alleged issues with Lloyd’s report should raise issues for voters in the November general election.
“Doug Lloyd can’t even follow campaign finance law — he can’t be trusted to uphold the law as our state’s chief law enforcement officer,” he said.
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