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 Ohio House of Representatives, overall and by party. It is based on campaign finance reports that officeholders in and candidates for the House submitted to the Ohio Secretary of State. It includes activity between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021.
Top fundraisers in the Ohio House of Representatives by party
The top fundraisers in Ohio House of Representatives 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:
- Casey Weinstein – $94,694
- Joseph A. Miller III – $75,123
- Emilia Sykes – $69,862
- Jessica Miranda – $60,787
- Gavi Begtrup (District 26) – $56,621
In the Republican Party, the top fundraisers were:
- Jay Edwards – $429,201
- Bob Cupp – $330,751
- Thomas Patton – $300,039
- Jason Stephens – $233,402
- Phil Plummer – $219,237
Fundraising totals
Overall, Democratic officeholders and candidates raised $1.10 million in this period. Republican officeholders and candidates raised $5.16 million. Combined, all House fundraisers in the January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021, filing period raised $6.26 million.
The five largest Democratic fundraisers were responsible for 32 percent of all Democratic House fundraising. The five largest Republican fundraisers were responsible for 29 percent of all Republican House fundraising.
The table below provides additional data from the campaign finance reports from the top ten fundraisers during this period.
TOP TEN FUNDRAISERS – OHIO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021)
| Name | Party Affiliation | Raised | Spent |
| Jay Edwards | Republican Party | $429,201 | $68,023 |
| Bob Cupp | Republican Party | $330,751 | $154,545 |
| Thomas Patton | Republican Party | $300,039 | $187,196 |
| Jason Stephens | Republican Party | $233,402 | $70,181 |
| Phil Plummer | Republican Party | $219,237 | $111,521 |
| Jon Cross | Republican Party | $215,456 | $85,222 |
| Bill Seitz | Republican Party | $180,222 | $146,520 |
| Rick Carfagna | Republican Party | $177,638 | $101,429 |
| Brian Baldridge | Republican Party | $175,476 | $28,033 |
| Alessandro Cutrona | Republican Party | $151,039 | $15,070 |
Campaign finance reporting periods
The data above are based on campaign finance reports that candidate PACs submitted to the Ohio 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 |
| 2021 Annual | 1/31/2022 |
| 2022 Pre-Primary | 4/21/2022 |
| 2022 Post-Primary | 6/10/2022 |
| 2022 Semiannual | 7/29/2022 |
| 2022 Pre-General | 10/27/2022 |
| 2022 Post-General | 12/16/2022 |
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.