Campaign finance requirements govern how much money candidates may receive from individuals and organizations, how often they must report those contributions, and how much individuals, organizations, and political entities may contribute to campaigns.
While campaign finance is not the only factor in electoral outcomes, successful fundraising can provide a candidate with advantages during a campaign. Fundraising can also indicate party momentum.
This article lists top fundraisers in the Indiana State Senate, overall and by party. It is based on campaign finance reports that officeholders in and candidates for the State Senate submitted to the Indiana Secretary of State. It includes activity between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021.
Top fundraisers in the Indiana State Senate by party
The top fundraisers in Indiana State Senate elections are shown below. Individuals are presented with the office that they are on the ballot for in 2022, if applicable.
In the Democratic Party, the top fundraisers were:
- Eddie Melton – $97,937
- Fady Qaddoura – $91,476
- David Niezgodski – $83,650
- Kristin Jones (District 46) – $77,112
- J.D. Ford (District 29) – $71,510
In the Republican Party, the top fundraisers were:
- Mark Messmer (District 48) – $259,900
- Chris Garten (District 45) – $224,275
- Kevin Boehnlein (District 47) – $201,205
- Kyle Walker (District 31) – $183,928
- Andy Zay (District 17) – $176,856
Fundraising totals
Overall, Democratic officeholders and candidates raised $634,035 in this period. Republican officeholders and candidates raised $2.24 million. Combined, all State Senate fundraisers in the January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021, filing period raised $2.87 million.
The five largest Democratic fundraisers were responsible for 67 percent of all Democratic State Senate fundraising. The five largest Republican fundraisers were responsible for 47 percent of all Republican State Senate fundraising.
The table below provides additional data from the campaign finance reports from the top ten fundraisers during this period.
TOP TEN FUNDRAISERS – INDIANA STATE SENATE (January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021)
| Name | Party Affiliation | Raised | Spent |
| Mark Messmer | Republican Party | $259,900 | $146,602 |
| Chris Garten | Republican Party | $224,275 | $13,387 |
| Kevin Boehnlein | Republican Party | $201,205 | $37,423 |
| Kyle Walker | Republican Party | $183,928 | $39,532 |
| Andy Zay | Republican Party | $176,856 | $18,665 |
| Alexander Choi | Republican Party | $171,852 | $52,052 |
| Travis Holdman | Republican Party | $131,145 | $60,277 |
| Jon Ford | Republican Party | $111,875 | $46,263 |
| Linda Rogers | Republican Party | $105,395 | $15,365 |
| Eddie Melton | Democratic Party | $97,937 | $57,866 |
Campaign finance reporting periods
The data above are based on campaign finance reports that candidate PACs submitted to the Indiana Secretary of State. Candidate PACs represent individuals who have run for state or local office at any point, including past and present officeholders. This article does not include non-candidate PACs. In 2022, Transparency USA will publish campaign finance data after the following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.
| Report Name | Report Due Date |
| 2022 Jan Semiannual | 1/19/2022 |
| 2022 Statewide Quarterly/Semiannual | 7/15/2022 |
| 2022 Pre-Election | 10/17/2022 |
| 2022 Statewide Quarterly | 11/1/2022 |
| 2022 Annual Report | 1/18/2023 |
This article is a joint publication from Ballotpedia and Transparency USA, who are working together to provide campaign finance information for state-level elections. Learn more about our work here.