These California State Assembly candidates raised the most money and lost

By

Kalyn Stralow

Elections for all 80 seats in the California State Assembly took place on Nov. 8, 2022. Democrats held a 62-18 majority heading into the election.

This article details the five candidates who raised the most money and lost their election. In the 2022 election cycle, 78 of 80 general elections were contested. The losing candidates are shown along with the percentage of the vote they received compared to the winner. In cases where the race was pushed to a runoff, vote percentages for both advancing candidates are included.

Assembly candidates who raised the most money and lost their general election

This information comes from candidate reports to the California Secretary of State covering the period of Jan. 1, 2021, through Oct. 22, 2022.

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

  • Ken Cooley – $3,799,737 – District 7 (Lost general 50% – 50%)
  • Christy Holstege – $2,512,166 – District 47 (Lost general 50% – 50%)
  • Suzette Martinez Valladares – $1,965,753 – District 40 (Lost general 50% – 50%)
  • Eric Guerra – $1,737,676 – District 10 (Lost general 46% – 54%)
  • Mark Pazin – $1,233,108 – District 27 (Lost general 49% – 51%)

Assembly candidates who raised the most money and lost their general election last cycle

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

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

  • Melissa Fox – $2,841,770 – District 68 (Lost general 47% – 53%)
  • Diedre Nguyen – $2,204,405 – District 72 (Lost general 46% – 54%)
  • Dawn Addis – $1,766,827 – District 35 (Lost general 45% – 55%)
  • Diane Dixon – $988,366 – District 74 (Lost general 50% – 50%)
  • Katherine Miller – $803,755 – District 13 (Lost general 48% – 52%)

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active California PACs submitted to the California Secretary of State. Political expenditures that are not controlled by candidates or their campaigns, known as satellite spending, are not included in candidate totals. Federal PACs are not required to report to state agencies. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines.

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.