In Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz is the number one fundraiser in state politics in the 2022 election cycle so far. According to the most recent campaign finance reports made to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, the governor received $2,453,591 in total contributions and spent $1,324,421 between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021. Walz is running for re-election in 2022.
Gov. Walz is a member of the Democratic Party and first assumed office in 2019.
Gov. Walz’s reported campaign finance activity, by quarter (2017-2021)
Contributions to Gov. Walz
Of the $2.5 million already reported in the 2022 election cycle, 2.5 percent came from the top 10 donors.
Top Donors to Gov. Walz (1/1/2021 – 12/31/2021)
| Rank | Total Amount | Donor Name | Donor Type |
| 1. | $8,000 | Brenda and Charles Kratsch | Individual |
| 2. | $8,000 | Mary L and James R Schwebel | Individual |
| 3. | $8,000 | Ruth and Alvin J Huss Jr | Individual |
| 4. | $8,000 | Sara and Josh Tuchscherer | Individual |
| 5. | $7,500 | Jon Olson | Individual |
| 6. | $6,000 | Margaret J Skold | Individual |
| 7. | $4,426 | Stacey Mills Heins | Individual |
| 8. | $4,000 | Afscme Council 5 People Fund | Entity |
| 9. | $4,000 | Al Kamen | Individual |
| 10. | $4,000 | Alan G Braun | Individual |
Expenditures by Gov. Walz
On the expenditures side, Gov. Walz reported $1.3 million, with 77.3 percent of all spending going to the 10 payees topping the list.
Top Expenditures by Gov. Walz (1/1/2021 – 12/31/2021)
| Rank | Total Amount | Payee Name | Payee Type |
| 1. | $422,635 | Cleansweep Campaigns | Entity |
| 2. | $170,300 | McCool Digital LLC | Entity |
| 3. | $87,220 | Run the World | Entity |
| 4. | $70,003 | Nichole Johnson | Individual |
| 5. | $57,753 | Internal Revenue Services | Entity |
| 6. | $55,000 | Blg Strategies LLC | Entity |
| 7. | $49,553 | Vantiv LLC | Entity |
| 8. | $37,500 | Jones Mandel Inc | Entity |
| 9. | $37,478 | Haley Cobb | Individual |
| 10. | $36,445 | Ralston Lapp Media | Entity |
How Gov. Walz’s fundraising compares to other governors
Among elected officials holding the same level of state office, fundraising varies widely. A number of factors, including whether an incumbent officeholder is running for reelection, influence donor activity. Here is how fundraising by Minnesota Gov. Walz compares to the 10 other governors with campaign finance data available from Transparency USA in 2022:
Fundraising reported by 11 U.S. governors in the 2022 election cycle
The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Minnesota PACs submitted to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.
| Report Name | Report Due Date |
| 2022 Jan Annual | 1/31/2022 |
| 2022 Q1 | 4/14/2022 |
| 2022 Q2 | 6/14/2022 |
| 2022 Jul Semiannual | 7/25/2022 |
| 2022 Q3 | 9/27/2022 |
| 2022 Q4 | 10/31/2022 |
| 2022 Jan Annual | 1/31/2023 |
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.