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 among Ohio statewide officeholders and candidates, overall and by party. It is based on campaign finance reports that officeholders in and candidates for statewide elected offices submitted to the Ohio Secretary of State. It includes activity between July 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2022.
Statewide political positions are typically offices in the executive and judicial branches of government rather than the legislative, and they most often represent all citizens in the state, rather than those in a particular district.
Top Ohio statewide fundraisers by party
The top fundraisers among Ohio statewide officeholders and candidates are shown below. Individuals are presented with the office that they were on the ballot for in 2022, if applicable. If no office is indicated, the person was an incumbent and was not on the ballot in 2022.
In the Democratic Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent semiannual reporting period were:
- Nan Whaley (Governor) – $3,851,561
- Jeff Crossman (Attorney General) – $368,411
- Taylor Sappington (Auditor of State) – $169,397
- Scott Schertzer (Treasurer) – $130,377
- Chelsea Clark (Secretary of State) – $92,729
In the Republican Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent semiannual reporting period were:
- Richard Michael DeWine (Governor) – $7,245,296
- Dave Yost (Attorney General) – $1,583,519
- Frank LaRose (Secretary of State) – $1,107,589
- Keith Faber (Auditor of State) – $683,953
- Robert Sprague (Treasurer) – $508,739
Fundraising totals
Overall, Democratic officeholders and candidates raised $4.6 million in this period. Republican officeholders and candidates raised $11.1 million. Combined, all statewide officeholders and candidates in the July 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2022, filing period raised $15.9 million.
These were the only Democratic statewide executive fundraisers during this reporting period. These were the only Republican statewide executive fundraisers during this reporting period.
The table below provides additional data from the campaign finance reports from the top 10 fundraisers during this period.
| TOP 10 FUNDRAISERS – Ohio STATEWIDE OFFICEHOLDERS AND CANDIDATES (July 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2022) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Party Affiliation | Office Sought | Raised | Spent |
| Governor Richard Michael DeWine | Republican Party | Governor | $7,245,296 | $10,016,097 |
| Nan Whaley | Democratic Party | Governor | $3,851,561 | $4,276,821 |
| Attorney General Dave Yost | Republican Party | Attorney General | $1,583,519 | $3,382,954 |
| Secretary of State Frank LaRose | Republican Party | Secretary of State | $1,107,589 | $2,618,187 |
| Auditor Keith Faber | Republican Party | Auditor of State | $683,953 | $1,044,076 |
| Treasurer Robert Sprague | Republican Party | Treasurer | $508,739 | $1,081,931 |
| Jeff Crossman | Democratic Party | Attorney General | $368,411 | $350,943 |
| Terpsehore Maras | Independent | Secretary of State | $183,837 | $161,089 |
| Taylor Sappington | Democratic Party | Auditor of State | $169,397 | $146,908 |
| Scott Schertzer | Democratic Party | Treasurer | $130,377 | $225,999 |
Campaign finance reporting periods
The data above are based on campaign finance reports that candidate committees submitted to the Ohio 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.