These five Indiana Senate candidates raised the most money and lost their primary


Most money raised by a losing primary candidate

General elections for 25 of 50 seats in the Indiana State Senate will take place on November 8, 2022. State senatorial primary elections were held on May 3, 2022. Republicans hold a 39-11 majority heading into the election.

This article details the five candidates in each party who raised the most money and lost their primary election. In the 2022 election cycle, eight of 25 Republican primaries and four of 13 Democratic primaries were contested. The losing candidates are shown along with the percentage of the vote they received compared to the primary winner. In cases where the race was pushed to a runoff, vote percentages for both advancing candidates are included.

Top fundraisers with unsuccessful primary campaigns this cycle

This information comes from candidate reports to the Indiana Secretary of State covering the period of January 1, 2021, through April 8, 2022.

The Democratic candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary were:

  • Todd Connor – $155,026 – District 4 (Lost primary 27% – 44%)
  • Kristin Jones – $117,570 – District 46 (Lost primary 26% – 44%)
  • Ashley Eason – $48,108 – District 46 (Lost primary 16% – 44%)
  • Karla Lopez Owens – $21,647 – District 46 (Lost primary 14% – 44%)
  • Deb Chubb – $17,811 – District 4 (Lost primary 22% – 44%)

The Republican candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary were:

  • Ron Turpin – $477,862 – District 14 (Lost primary 40% – 50%)
  • Christian Beaver – $47,653 – District 23 (Lost primary 19% – 31%)
  • Gary Byrne – $28,331 – District 47 (Lost primary 48% – 52%)
  • Evan McMullen – $12,129 – District 25 (Lost primary 44% – 56%)
  • Bill Webster – $11,099 – District 23 (Lost primary 27% – 31%)

Top fundraisers with unsuccessful primary campaigns last cycle

This information comes from candidate reports to the Indiana Secretary of State covering the period of January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2020.

The Democratic candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary in 2020 were:

  • John Zody – $49,718 – District 40 (Lost primary 17% – 81%)
  • Alex Bowman – $13,607 – District 10 (Lost primary 36% – 64%)
  • Jason Fletcher – $9,446 – District 36 (Lost primary 27% – 73%)
  • Tim Barr – $0 – District 16 (Lost primary 48% – 52%)
  • Trent Feuerbach – $0 – District 40 (Lost primary 2% – 81%)

The Republican candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary in 2020 were:

  • John Gaylor – $564,955 – District 20 (Lost primary 32% – 68%)
  • Jeffrey Wible – $24,735 – District 13 (Lost primary 39% – 61%)
  • Ethan Brown – $0 – District 7 (Lost primary 26% – 69%)
  • Terry Michael – $0 – District 30 (Lost primary 19% – 81%)
  • Tom Rhoades – $0 – District 16 (Lost primary 31% – 69%)

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Indiana PACs submitted to the Indiana Secretary of State. Federal PACs are not required to report to state agencies. 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 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.