Campaign finance requirements govern how much money candidates may receive from individuals and organizations, how often they must report those contributions, and how much individuals, organizations, and political entities may contribute to campaigns.
While campaign finance is not the only factor in electoral outcomes, successful fundraising can provide a candidate with advantages during a campaign. Fundraising can also indicate party momentum.
This article lists top fundraisers in the California State Senate, overall and by party. It is based on campaign finance reports that officeholders in and candidates for the State Senate submitted to the California Secretary of State. It includes activity between July 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2022.
Top fundraisers in the California State Senate by party
The top fundraisers in California State Senate elections are shown below. Individuals are presented with the office that they were on the ballot for in 2022, if applicable.
In the Democratic Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent semiannual reporting period were:
- Melissa Hurtado (District 16) – $4,366,348
- Catherine Blakespear (District 38) – $3,901,905
- Joseph Rocha (District 40) – $1,277,663
- Dave Jones (District 8) – $1,081,012
- Caroline Menjivar (District 20) – $830,236
In the Republican Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent semiannual reporting period were:
- Matt Gunderson (District 38) – $2,175,606
- Brian Dahle – $1,116,742
- Janet Nguyen (District 36) – $1,047,499
- David Shepard (District 16) – $1,000,852
- Brian Jones (District 40) – $724,563
Fundraising totals
Overall, Democratic officeholders and candidates raised $21.6 million in this period. Republican officeholders and candidates raised $7.7 million. Combined, all State Senate fundraisers in the July 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2022, filing period raised $29.4 million.
The five largest Democratic fundraisers were responsible for 53 percent of all Democratic State Senate fundraising. The five largest Republican fundraisers were responsible for 78 percent of all Republican State Senate fundraising.
The table below provides additional data from the campaign finance reports from the top 10 fundraisers during this period.
| TOP 10 FUNDRAISERS – CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE (July 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2022) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Party Affiliation | Raised | Spent |
| Melissa Hurtado | Democratic Party | $4,366,348 | $5,726,067 |
| Catherine Blakespear | Democratic Party | $3,901,905 | $4,541,835 |
| Matt Gunderson | Republican Party | $2,175,606 | $3,390,574 |
| Joseph Rocha | Democratic Party | $1,277,663 | $20 |
| Brian Dahle | Republican Party | $1,116,742 | $2,005,480 |
| Dave Jones | Democratic Party | $1,081,012 | $2,312,866 |
| Janet Nguyen | Republican Party | $1,047,499 | $1,048,823 |
| David Shepard | Republican Party | $1,000,852 | $1,150,868 |
| Caroline Menjivar | Democratic Party | $830,236 | $1,148,438 |
| Brian Jones | Republican Party | $724,563 | $1,685,335 |
Campaign finance reporting periods
The data above are based on campaign finance reports that candidate committees submitted to the California Secretary of State. Candidate committees represent individuals who have run for state or local office at any point, including past and present officeholders. This article does not include non-candidate committees. 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.