The top fundraisers in the Minnesota House


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 Minnesota House of Representatives, overall and by party. It is based on campaign finance reports that officeholders in and candidates for the House submitted to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. It includes activity between July 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2022.

Top fundraisers in the Minnesota House of Representatives by party

The top fundraisers in Minnesota House of Representatives 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:

  • Samakab Hussein (District 65A) – $70,600
  • Lauren Bresnahan (District 45A) – $46,265
  • Ethan Cha (District 47B) – $42,113
  • Lucille Rehm (District 48B) – $35,834
  • Kristi Pursell (District 58A) – $28,831

In the Republican Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent semiannual reporting period were:

  • Jackie Schroeder (District 42B) – $57,941
  • Thomas Knecht (District 49B) – $48,300
  • Kurt Daudt (District 27B) – $38,200
  • John Heinrich (District 35A) – $33,750
  • Mark Bishofsky (District 33B) – $28,735

Fundraising totals

Overall, Democratic officeholders and candidates raised $1.4 million in this period. Republican officeholders and candidates raised $1.3 million. Combined, all House fundraisers in the July 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2022, filing period raised $2.7 million.

The five largest Democratic fundraisers were responsible for 16 percent of all Democratic House fundraising. The five largest Republican fundraisers were responsible for 16 percent of all Republican House fundraising.

The table below provides additional data from the campaign finance reports from the top 10 fundraisers during this period.

TOP 10 FUNDRAISERS – MINNESOTA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (July 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2022)
Name Party Affiliation Raised Spent
Samakab Hussein Democratic Party $70,600 $92,533
Jackie Schroeder Republican Party $57,941 $77,010
Thomas Knecht Republican Party $48,300 $70,507
Lauren Bresnahan Democratic Party $46,265 $110,394
Ethan Cha Democratic Party $42,113 $67,429
Kurt Daudt Republican Party $38,200 $37,058
Lucille Rehm Democratic Party $35,834 $60,781
John Heinrich Republican Party $33,750 $54,683
Kristi Pursell Democratic Party $28,831 $77,602
Mark Bishofsky Republican Party $28,735 $60,941

Campaign finance reporting periods

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that candidate committees submitted to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. 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.