Jaime Churches introducing herself as "Jaime Churches with Emgage" at an Emgage event.
You can't make this up
Folks, you have to see this one to believe it. Jaime Churches, the Democrat asking Downriver voters to send her back to Lansing, is running an ad telling you that "lobbyists and special interests run the game" in Lansing. She's right about one thing. Somebody is running the game. And when you look at who signs her paychecks and who fills her campaign account, it's not hard to figure out who.
Here's what she's not telling you
Jaime Churches isn't some outsider fighting the special interests. She works for one.
Churches is the Michigan State Director of Emgage, a national Muslim advocacy outfit. Don't take our word for it. It's right there on Emgage's own website.
What does Emgage do? By its own description: "advocacy." Translation: it organizes to push lawmakers toward its agenda. That is a special interest group, plain and simple.
And she's proud of it. There's video of her, in an Emgage hoodie, under "Advocacy in Action" signs, introducing herself as "Jaime Churches with Emgage." Emgage even put her face on the flyer for its "MI Muslim Advocacy Conversation" in Canton.
So the next time she lectures you about special interests running Lansing, ask yourself: isn't that her job description?
Follow the money
It gets better. Or worse, depending on where you sit.
According to her own campaign finance filings, Churches has taken more than $150,000 from special interest groups. Just five of those liberal groups account for $88,500 of it:
That's national liberal fundraising machines, the trial lawyers and a Hollywood climate crusade, all lining up behind one candidate for state House.
Let's be honest. Nobody hands a politician that kind of money out of the goodness of their heart. They expect something back. And the hardworking families of Downriver? They don't get a seat at that table.
| Special interest group | Amount |
|---|---|
| EMILY's List | $30,000 |
| The PAC for America's Future | $24,500 |
| Michigan Association for Justice PAC (trial lawyers) | $15,000 |
| Jane Fonda Climate PAC | $10,000 |
| Progressive Turnout Project | $9,000 |
| Total from these five | $88,500 |
So who is she really fighting for?
On the campaign trail, Churches plays the hometown girl. Raised Downriver. Former schoolteacher. Just a regular person fighting for regular families.
That's the pitch. Here's the reality: her paycheck comes from an advocacy group, and her campaign runs on special-interest cash. You can't spend your workweek pushing an organization's agenda and then turn around and tell voters you're the one taking on the lobbyists.
Meanwhile, the folks Downriver want what they've always wanted. Safe streets. Good schools. Lower prices at the pump and the grocery store. Roads that don't eat your tires. They deserve a representative whose only agenda is theirs.
She can't have it both ways
Bottom line: Jaime Churches says one thing and does another. She rails against special interests while working for one and cashing their checks.
Downriver voters aren't stupid, and they don't like being played. Watch the ad. Share it with your neighbors. And ask Jaime Churches one simple question: who are you really fighting for?
Paid for by MI 6th District Conservatives.