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 Jan. 1, 2022, and June 30, 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 are 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) – $2,478,432
- Keith Ellison (Attorney General) – $528,428
- Steve Simon (Secretary of State) – $362,327
- Julie Blaha (State Auditor) – $61,923
In the Republican Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent semiannual reporting period were:
- Scott Jensen (Governor) – $855,805
- Dennis Smith (Attorney General) – $662,927
- Kendall Qualls (Governor) – $600,708
- Jim Schultz (Attorney General) – $224,213
- Doug Wardlow (Attorney General) – $193,810
Fundraising totals
Overall, Democratic officeholders and candidates raised $3.4 million in this period. Republican officeholders and candidates raised $3.2 million. Combined, all statewide officeholders and candidates in the Jan. 1, 2022, through June 30, 2022, filing period raised $6.7 million.
These were the only Democratic statewide executive fundraisers during this reporting period. The five largest Republican fundraisers were responsible for 79 percent of all Republican statewide officeholder and candidate fundraising.
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 (Jan. 1, 2022, through June 30, 2022) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Party Affiliation | Office Sought | Raised | Spent |
| Governor Tim Walz | Democratic Party | Governor | $2,478,432 | $1,214,520 |
| Scott Jensen | Republican Party | Governor | $855,805 | $879,622 |
| Dennis Smith | Republican Party | Attorney General | $662,927 | $234,039 |
| Kendall Qualls | Republican Party | Governor | $600,708 | $579,289 |
| Attorney General Keith Ellison | Democratic Party | Attorney General | $528,428 | $184,317 |
| Secretary of State Steve Simon | Democratic Party | Secretary of State | $362,327 | $171,607 |
| Jim Schultz | Republican Party | Attorney General | $224,213 | $233,391 |
| Doug Wardlow | Republican Party | Attorney General | $193,810 | $194,392 |
| Richard Stanek | Republican Party | Governor | $149,053 | $108,851 |
| Kim Crockett | Republican Party | Secretary of State | $125,911 | $89,805 |
Campaign finance reporting periods
The data above are based on campaign finance reports that candidate PACs submitted to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. Candidate PACs 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 PACs. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.
| Report Name | Report Due Date |
| 2022 Jan Annual | 1/31/2022 |
| 2022 Q1 | 4/14/2022 |
| 2022 Q2 | 6/14/2022 |
| 2022 Jul Semiannual | 7/25/2022 |
| 2022 Q3 | 9/27/2022 |
| 2022 Q4 | 10/31/2022 |
| 2022 Jan Annual | 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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