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Ballotpedia
National
Kalyn Stralow

California Gov. Newsom receives $14.9 million, with First Foundation Bank as top donor

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)

Source: Transparency USA

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.

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