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AG candidate Karen McDonald
Top lawyers for Consumers Energy and DTE Energy have donated to Democratic Michigan attorney general candidate Karen McDonald's primary race, raising questions about a conflict of interest, Tom Perkins writes in a story for the Michigan Advance.
Should she win, McDonald might opose the utilities in court and in regulatory battles, Perkins points out.
The donations represent “a very serious conflict of interest,” Craig Holman, a lobbyist with Public Citizen, a Washington D.C. campaign finance watchdog, tells the Michigan Advance.
“When you get a special interest giving money to candidates, and they’ve got something pending before that office, then they are trying to curry favor by making campaign contributions."
McDonald did not respond to Michigan Advance’s requests for comment.
