In Ohio politics, state-level candidates and PACs spent $59.24 million between Jan. 1, 2021, and Apr. 13, 2022. More than $10.65 million or 17.98 percent of all campaign finance expenditures went to the 10 payees at the top of the list.
A payee is an entity or individual who has received money from a campaign account. Candidates and PACs must report campaign expenditures, including payments to vendors, donations to other campaign accounts, and bank transfers, to the Ohio Secretary of State.
Top 10 Ohio payees (1/1/2021 – 4/13/2022)
Here are the top 10 recipients of Ohio campaign money in the 2022 election cycle, as of the most recent reports.
| Rank | Payee Name | Total Received |
| 1. | SRCP Media Inc | $2,352,953.88 |
| 2. | Al Media | $1,633,120.00 |
| 3. | Sage Media | $1,202,723.10 |
| 4. | Ascent Media LLC | $1,108,185.84 |
| 5. | Advanced Micro Targeting Inc | $1,050,000.00 |
| 6. | Left Hook Communications | $1,000,000.00 |
| 7. | Paychex | $715,733.82 |
| 8. | National Payment Corporation | $576,729.83 |
| 9. | Minnesota Democratic Farm Labor Party | $560,000.00 |
| 10. | Red Brick Strategies | $451,001.96 |
Total Expenditures in nine states during the 2022 election cycle
Campaign finance expenditures vary widely among state-level candidates and PACs. A number of factors, including state-specific campaign finance regulations, influence how expenditure activity varies across states. Here is how total campaign finance expenditures in Ohio compared to eight other states with data available from Transparency USA for the 2022 election cycle:
Comparison of total expenditures, by state
| Rank | State | Total Expenditures | Reporting Period |
| 1 | Texas | $337,432,351 | 1/1/2022 – 2/19/2022 |
| 2 | Pennsylvania | $319,374,389 | 1/1/2022 – 3/9/2022 |
| 3 | Florida | $302,254,134 | 1/1/2022 – 2/28/2022 |
| 4 | Michigan | $71,971,787 | 1/1/2022 – 4/20/2022 |
| 5 | Arizona | 63,716,617 | 1/1/2022 – 3/31/2022 |
| 6 | Ohio | $59,240,397 | 1/1/2022 – 4/13/2022 |
| 7 | Wisconsin | $34,706,022 | 1/1/2022 – 3/21/2022 |
| 8 | Indiana | $32,159,398 | 1/1/2022 – 4/8/2022 |
| 9 | North Carolina | $22,543,037 | 1/1/2022 – 12/31/2021 |
The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Ohio PACs submitted to the Ohio Secretary of State. 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 |
| 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.