These California State Senate candidates raised the most money and lost

By

Kalyn Stralow

Elections for 20 of 40 seats in the California State Senate took place on Nov. 8, 2022. Democrats held a 32-8 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, 20 of 20 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.

State Senate 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:

  • Matt Gunderson – $2,413,302 – District 38 (Lost general 48% – 52%)
  • Dave Jones – $2,217,763 – District 8 (Lost general 48% – 52%)
  • Daniel Hertzberg – $1,105,746 – District 20 (Lost general 43% – 57%)
  • Lily Mei – $1,019,353 – District 10 (Lost general 46% – 54%)
  • David Shepard – $906,813 – District 16 (Lost general 50% – 50%)

State Senate 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:

  • John M. W. Moorlach – $2,399,507 – District 37 (Lost general 49% – 51%)
  • Ling Ling Chang – $2,054,280 – District 29 (Lost general 49% – 51%)
  • Kipp Mueller – $1,834,574 – District 21 (Lost general 49% – 51%)
  • Ann Ravel – $1,309,144 – District 15 (Lost general 45% – 55%)
  • Abigail Medina – $1,241,282 – District 23 (Lost general 47% – 53%)

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.