Editor’s Note: This article showed First Foundation Bank as the top donor to Gov. Newsom’s campaign. It has been brought to our attention the amount represents interest payments, not traditional campaign donations.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is the number two fundraiser in California state politics in the 2022 election cycle so far. According to campaign finance reports made to the California Secretary of State, the governor received $14,884,261 in total contributions and spent $18,165,007 between Jan. 1, 2021 and Sept. 24, 2022. Newsom is running for re-election in 2022.
Gov. Newsom is a member of the Democratic Party and first assumed office in 2019.
Gov. Newsom’s reported campaign finance activity, by quarter (2018-2022)
Contributions to Gov. Newsom
Of the $14.9 million already reported in the 2022 election cycle, 4.8 percent came from the top 10 donors.
Top Donors to Gov. Newsom (1/1/2021 – 9/24/2022)
| Rank | Total Amount | Donor Name | Donor Type |
| 1. | $128,880.63 | First Foundation Bank | ENTITY |
| 2. | $64,800.00 | Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians | ENTITY |
| 3. | $64,800.00 | Akiko Yamazaki | INDIVIDUAL |
| 4. | $64,800.00 | Alexandra Parker | INDIVIDUAL |
| 5. | $64,800.00 | Andrew Hauptman | INDIVIDUAL |
| 6. | $64,800.00 | Angelo K Tsakopoulos and Affiliated Entities | ENTITY |
| 7. | $64,800.00 | Building a Stronger California Sponsored by Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters | ENTITY |
| 8. | $64,800.00 | California Dental Association PAC (Cda PAC) | ENTITY |
| 9. | $64,800.00 | California Federation of Teachers Cope | ENTITY |
| 10. | $64,800.00 | California Nurses Association PAC (Cna-PAC) | ENTITY |
*Donors who gave the same amount are listed in alphabetical order. An additional 42 donors also contributed $64,800 this cycle.
Expenditures by Gov. Newsom
On the expenditures side, Gov. Newsom reported over $18.2 million, with 69.1 percent of all spending going to the 10 payees topping the list.
Top Expenditures by Gov. Newsom (1/1/2021 – 9/24/2021)
| Rank | Expenditure Amount | Payee | Type |
| 1. | $4,703,981.68 | Aisle 518 Strategies LLC | ENTITY |
| 2. | $4,385,613.00 | Sadler Strategic Media Inc | ENTITY |
| 3. | $629,626.81 | Bearstar Strategies Inc | ENTITY |
| 4. | $485,005.75 | Kabc Tv | ENTITY |
| 5. | $480,793.64 | Google Inc | ENTITY |
| 6. | $478,860.25 | Spectrum Reach Charter Communications Holdings LLC | ENTITY |
| 7. | $407,872.50 | Kcbs – Tv | ENTITY |
| 8. | $367,655.00 | Knbc – Tv | ENTITY |
| 9. | $311,044.15 | Yahoo Media Inc | ENTITY |
| 10. | $296,968.98 | Meta Platforms Inc – Facebook | ENTITY |
How Gov. Newsom’s fundraising compares to other governors
Among elected officials holding the same level of state office, fundraising varies widely. A number of factors, including whether an incumbent officeholder is running for reelection, influence donor activity. Here is how fundraising by Gov. Newsom compares to the 10 other governors with campaign finance data available from Transparency USA in 2022:
Fundraising reported by 11 U.S. governors in the 2022 election cycle
The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active California PACs submitted to the California Secretary of State. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.
| Name of Report | Reporting Period | Deadline |
| 2022 Jan Semiannual | 7/1/21 – 12/31/21 | 1/31/2022 |
| 2022 1st Pre-Primary | 1/1/22 – 4/23/22 | 4/28/2022 |
| 2022 2nd Pre-Primary | 4/24/22 – 5/21/22 | 5/26/2022 |
| 2022 July Semiannual | 5/22/22 – 6/30/22 | 8/1/2022 |
| 2022 1st Pre-General | 7/1/22 – 9/24/22 | 9/29/2022 |
| 2022 2nd Pre-General | 9/25/22 – 10/22/22 | 10/27/2022 |
| 2023 Jan Semiannual | 10/23/22 – 12/31/22 | 1/31/2023 |
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.