WASHINGTON -- The environmental group League of Conservation Voters and the union American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees announced Thursday that they are funneling $2.1 million into the Michigan Senate race in support of Democratic candidate Gary Peters.
Peters, a three-term House member now making a bid for the Senate, is facing off against Republican Terri Lynn Land in a race that has already drawn millions in outside spending, including more than $5 million spent by the Koch-backed group Americans for Prosperity.
AFSCME and the League of Conservation Voters said their $2.1 million would go to a mail and voter turnout operation in support of Peters. According to Daniel Weiss, the league's senior vice president for campaigns, they will push back against the Koch efforts aimed at the Democrat and will highlight "Land’s extreme anti-environmental agenda." The league endorsed Peters in March, calling him a "true leader" on environmental issues.
"Through this partnership with LCV, we will ensure that voters across the state learn about Terri Lynn Land's out-of-touch agenda and that Rep. Peters is the right choice to move Michigan forward," Seth Johnson, AFSCME's assistant political director, said in a statement.
Peters and Land are running to replace retiring Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), who chose not to seek a seventh term. HuffPost Pollster's estimate, based on all available public polls, shows Peters with a 5 percentage point lead over his Republican opponent.