These Ohio State Senate candidates raised the most money and lost

By

Kalyn Stralow

Elections for 17 of 33 seats in the Ohio State Senate took place on Nov. 8, 2022. Republicans held a 25-8 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, 14 of 17 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 Ohio Secretary of State covering the period of Jan. 1, 2021, through Oct. 19, 2022.

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

  • Patricia Goetz – $200,866 – District 27 (Lost general 49% – 51%)
  • Tina Maharath – $183,382 – District 3 (Lost general 47% – 53%)
  • Orlando Sonza – $96,286 – District 9 (Lost general 27% – 73%)
  • Anthony Eliopoulos – $52,515 – District 13 (Lost general 42% – 58%)
  • David Dallas – $7,816 – District 7 (Lost general 38% – 62%)

State Senate candidates who raised the most money and lost their general election 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 candidates who raised the most money and lost their election were:

  • Betsy Rader – $742,197 – District 18 (Lost general 39% – 61%)
  • Crystal Lett – $545,046 – District 16 (Lost general 50% – 50%)
  • Sean O’Brien – $540,044 – District 32 (Lost general 49% – 51%)
  • Mark Fogel – $415,976 – District 6 (Lost general 47% – 53%)
  • Kathy Wyenandt – $385,573 – District 4 (Lost general 39% – 61%)

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