DeVos family pledges millions, taps Ronna McDaniel to help GOP win Michigan

• DeVos family launches new political group aimed at helping Republicans win Michigan elections
• Ronna McDaniel, former chair of the Republican National Committee, will serve as CEO of the new Michigan Forward Network
• Members of the billionaire DeVos family are the state’s largest political donors and a bedrock of GOP fundraising

LANSING — Members of West Michigan’s billionaire DeVos family are launching a group called Michigan Forward Network, looking to stake a new claim in a state where they have long wielded far-reaching political influence.

And they're enlisting Ronna McDaniel, former chair of the Republican National Committee, to lead the charge.

“I love my home state, and if you care about Michigan’s future, you cannot sit idly by and watch its decline,” Dick DeVos said in a statement announcing the organization. He will lead an advisory board for the group.

“The Michigan Forward Network is committed to delivering the leadership and policies we need to turn things around," he added.  

The family has cast a long shadow in Michigan politics for decades, together spending more than $80 million in disclosed donations to campaigns and political action committees in state politics over the past two decades, according to a Bridge review of state campaign finance data. 

That’s excluding a reported $5 million donation the family recently made to a super PAC supporting US Rep. John James’ 2026 campaign for Michigan governor. Family members have also made close to $28 million in disclosed federal donations since 2019, according to Federal Election Commission records.

McDaniel, a Michigan native who led the state GOP before President Donald Trump endorsed her for the national role in 2017, will serve as CEO of the new Michigan Forward Network. 

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, McDaniel said the group’s first focus would be to restore Republican majorities in the state legislature, where Democrats still control the Senate.

The group will operate as a 501(c)(4), a so-called “dark money” nonprofit that will not have to disclose its donors and can spend unlimited amounts to influence elections but cannot directly coordinate with candidates or campaigns. 

McDaniel told the Wall Street Journal that the DeVos’ initial commitment would be millions of dollars, and that the initiative aims to make Michigan “reliably red.”

“We need to become a state like Ohio,” she told the newspaper, referring to Michigan’s southern neighbor that has shifted from a political battleground to an increasingly reliable Republican state. 

Michigan is poised to be a battleground again in 2026, with open races for both governor and US Senate. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is term-limited, and Democratic US Sen. Gary Peters announced earlier this year he would be leaving Congress at the end of his term.

Sarah Anderson, who was announced as the group’s chief of staff, has led other DeVos-affiliated political nonprofits, the Michigan Freedom Fund and Michigan Freedom Network, which have reliably campaigned against Democrats at the state level. The email announcing the Michigan Forward Network had a disclaimer that it was paid for by the Michigan Freedom Fund.

Shane Hernandez, a former state legislator who was the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor in 2022, will serve as president. Anderson and Hernandez did not return interview requests from Bridge Michigan.

The Detroit News first reported on plans for the organization earlier this month. 

McDaniel led the Michigan Republican Party during Trump’s first 2016 win and shortly after became chair of the Republican National Committee. 

She held the position until 2024, when she was ousted under pressure from Trump, whose ire she had drawn by facilitating primary debates for his political rivals and for acknowledging that the 2020 election was not subject to widespread fraud.