General elections for all 99 seats in the Ohio House of Representatives will take place on Nov. 8, 2022. State house primary elections were held on Aug. 2, 2022. Republicans hold a 64-35 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, 30 of 91 Republican primaries and 30 of 83 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 Ohio Secretary of State covering the period of Jan. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2022.

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

• Gavi Begtrup – $178,099 – District 27 (Lost primary 38% – 62%)
• Monique Smith – $96,127 – District 16 (Lost primary 44% – 56%)
• Kelly Harrop – $64,123 – District 3 (Lost primary 34% – 36%)
• Vincent Stokes II – $33,937 – District 22 (Lost primary 22% – 70%)
• Bria Bennett – $27,010 – District 64 (Lost primary 31% – 69%)

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

• Mark Fraizer – $205,857 – District 68 (Lost primary 42% – 58%)
• Matt King – $109,314 – District 46 (Lost primary 44% – 56%)
• J.J. Sreenan – $48,580 – District 78 (Lost primary 45% – 55%)
• Jacob Larger – $37,320 – District 84 (Lost primary 36% – 61%)
• Kim Georgeton – $28,915 – District 28 (Lost primary 41% – 59%)

Top fundraisers with unsuccessful primary campaigns last cycle

This information comes from candidate reports to the Ohio Secretary of State covering the period of Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2020.

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

• Mohamud Jama – $80,200 – District 25 (Lost primary 23% – 45%)
• Joe Romano – $33,455 – District 16 (Lost primary 30% – 70%)
• Kofi Nsia‐Pepra – $11,752 – District 25 (Lost primary 8% – 45%)
• AJ Harris – $11,355 – District 36 (Lost primary 34% – 66%)
• Mayo Makinde – $9,935 – District 25 (Lost primary 17% – 45%)

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

• Allen Freeman – $110,879 – District 66 (Lost primary 32% – 36%)
• Mark Welch – $70,728 – District 52 (Lost primary 48% – 52%)
• Joe Dills – $54,680 – District 65 (Lost primary 41% – 44%)
• Shayne Thomas – $40,227 – District 88 (Lost primary 36% – 41%)
• Thaddeus Claggett – $35,185 – District 71 (Lost primary 49% – 51%)

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Ohio PACs submitted to the Ohio 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.

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.