$13.9 million raised in the race for Wisconsin governor


The general election for Governor of Wisconsin will take place on Nov. 7, 2022. In total, candidates running for Wisconsin governor have raised $13.9 million and spent $4.4 million between Jan. 1, 2021, and Mar. 21, 2022. The Democratic and Republican primaries are on Aug. 8, 2022.

Here’s the breakdown for the nine candidates who are still in the running:

Active Gubernatorial Candidates’ Campaign Finance, 1/1/2021- 3/21/2022

CandidatePartyContributionsExpendituresElection Stage
Tony Evers (Incumbent)Democratic$10,383,804.02$3,257,857.58Primary
Adam FIscherRepublican$28,369.78$955.94Primary
James KellenRepublican$0.00$0.00Primary
Rebecca KleefischRepublican$3,380,231.15$979,478.05Primary
Tim MichelsRepublican$0.00$0.00Primary
Kevin NicholsonRepublican$0.00$0.00Primary
Timothy RamthunRepublican$3,815.00$0.00Primary
Joan Ellis BeglingerIndependent$37,451.17$31,373.54General
Jess HiselIndependent$33,446.07$41,946.97General

The remaining $66,289 raised in the race for Wisconsin governor went to a candidate who has withdrawn.

Total fundraising in nine gubernatorial races in the 2022 election cycle

A number of factors, including whether an incumbent officeholder is running for re-election and number of candidates in a race, can influence donor activity. Here is how total fundraising by all candidates for Wisconsin governor compares to the eight other gubernatorial races with campaign finance data available from Transparency USA for the 2022 election cycle:

RankStateTotal DonationsTotal CandidatesActive CandidatesElection StageAvailable Reporting Period
1Florida$106,753,1151210Primary Election1/1/2021 – 3/31/2022
2Texas$72,717,055245General Election1/1/2021 – 5/14/2022
3Pennsylvania$55,727,674205General Election1/1/2021 – 6/16/2022
4Arizona$24,376,8841512Primary Election1/1/2021 – 3/31/2022
5Ohio$22,113,46895General Election1/1/2021 – 6/3/2022
6Michigan$20,716,429167Primary Election1/1/2021 – 4/20/2022
7California$13,997,678322General Election1/1/2021 – 5/21/2022
8Wisconsin$13,933,407109Primary Election1/1/2021 – 3/13/2022
9Minnesota$8,263,0721411Primary Election1/1/2021 – 3/30/2022

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Wisconsin candidate PACs submitted to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.

Report NameReport Due Date
2022 Jan Semiannual1/18/2022
2022 Spring Pre-Primary2/7/2022
2022 Spring Pre-Election3/28/2022
2022 Jul Semiannual7/15/2022
2022 Fall Pre-Primary8/1/2022
2022 Sept Data9/27/2022
2022 Fall Pre-General10/31/2022
2023 Jan Semiannual1/7/2023

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.