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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. 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 Minnesota statewide fundraisers by party
The top fundraisers among Minnesota 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:
- Tim Walz (Governor) – $2,628,236
- Keith Ellison (Attorney General) – $731,724
- Steve Simon (Secretary of State) – $547,110
- Julie Blaha (State Auditor) – $105,796
In the Republican Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent semiannual reporting period were:
- Scott Jensen (Governor) – $2,259,762
- Jim Schultz (Attorney General) – $807,330
- Ryan Wilson (State Auditor) – $336,637
- Kim Crockett (Secretary of State) – $167,627
- Doug Wardlow (Attorney General) – $28,693
Fundraising totals
Overall, Democratic officeholders and candidates raised $4.0 million in this period. Republican officeholders and candidates raised $3.6 million. Combined, all statewide officeholders and candidates in the July 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2022, filing period raised $7.6 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 – Minnesota STATEWIDE OFFICEHOLDERS AND CANDIDATES (July 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2022) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Party Affiliation | Office Sought | Raised | Spent |
| Governor Tim Walz | Democratic Party | Governor | $2,628,236 | $8,608,343 |
| Scott Jensen | Republican Party | Governor | $2,259,762 | $4,586,600 |
| Jim Schultz | Republican Party | Attorney General | $807,330 | $1,111,385 |
| Attorney General Keith Ellison | Democratic Party | Attorney General | $731,724 | $1,780,988 |
| Secretary of State Steve Simon | Democratic Party | Secretary of State | $547,110 | $1,566,230 |
| Ryan Wilson | Republican Party | State Auditor | $336,637 | $464,867 |
| Kim Crockett | Republican Party | Secretary of State | $167,627 | $339,011 |
| Auditor Julie Blaha | Democratic Party | State Auditor | $105,796 | $233,435 |
| Doug Wardlow | Republican Party | Attorney General | $28,693 | $77,752 |
| Hugh McTavish | Independence-Alliance Party of Minnesota | Governor | $11,750 | $245,162 |
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.