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A Closer Look
Comparing campaign finance data in state elections, 2018-2020
by Transparency USA
10/05/2020

*This report first appeared on Ballotpedia as a part of our ongoing partnership. We are proud to provide campaign finance data to Ballotpedia for state-level elections. Learn more about our partnership here.*

The value of money in state-level politics extends beyond purchasing power. Campaign cash allows candidates to promote their message and turn out their voters, but perhaps more importantly, it often represents momentum. While having the biggest campaign account is no guarantee of success at the polls, studies conducted by the Center for Responsive Politics and the Campaign Finance Institute found a strong correlation.

As part of our partnership with Ballotpedia, we took a closer look at how the two major political party candidates for state legislatures in nine states—Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin—performed with fundraising in a cycle-vs-cycle comparison from 2018 to 2020.

Highlights from each state appear below. Click on the link under each state to see the full reports.

Arizona

Here’s what we found in Arizona:

  • The overall contributions favor the Republicans, both in the aggregate and per candidate. As of the semiannual reports, Republican candidates for the Arizona State Legislature had raised $5.4 million, while Democrats had raised $4.2 million. Similarly, Republican candidates had raised on average $51,490, while Democrats had raised on average $48,450.
  • The percentage of change between 2018 and 2020 also favors the Republicans in several key metrics. The total number of individual donations to Republican candidates is up 27.3 percent compared to a 6.3 percent increase to Democrats. It’s also worth noting that while Democrats have significantly more small-dollar donations than Republicans, the momentum here is with the Republicans. The GOP saw a 38.6 percent increase in the number of donations for $100 or less, while Democrats stayed relatively flat with a 0.5 percent increase in small-dollar donations.

Click here to read the full Arizona report on Ballotpedia.

Florida

Here’s what we found in Florida:

  • The overall contributions favor the Republicans, both in the aggregate and per candidate. As of the semiannual reports, Republican candidates for the Florida State Legislature had raised $20.6 million, while Democrats had raised $9.8 million. Similarly, Republicans candidates had raised on average $108,513.51, while Democrats had raised on average $37,424.07.
  • The percentage of change between 2018 and 2020 favors the Democrats in several metrics we studied. For example, Democrats have seen a 57.6 percent increase in the number of individual donations compared to 2018, while the number of contributions to Republicans has remained relatively flat, increasing only 1.1 percent since 2018.

Click here to read the full Florida report on Ballotpedia.

Michigan

Here’s what we found in Michigan:

  • The overall contributions favor the Democrats. As of the semiannual reports, Democratic candidates for the Michigan House of Representatives had raised $5.3 million, while Republicans had raised $4.8 million.
  • Compared to 2018, numbers are down for both parties, but more so for Republicans. For example, the total number of individual contributions to Democrats dropped 10 percent compared to 2018, while the number of donations to Republicans is down 51 percent. Moreover, the number of small-dollar donations (less than or equal to $100) rose by 4 percent for Democrats, while Republicans saw a 44 percent decline.

Click here to read the full Michigan report on Ballotpedia.

Minnesota

Here’s what we found in Minnesota:

  • The overall contributions favor the Democrats, both in the aggregate and per candidate. As of the semiannual reports, Democratic candidates for the Minnesota State Legislature had raised $2.8 million, while Republicans had raised $1.9 million. Similarly, Democrats had raised on average $11,874, while Republicans had raised on average $8,577.
  • The percentage of change between 2018 and 2020 generally favors the Democrats, but the Republicans do better in two metrics we studied. Democrats are ahead of Republicans in both number of donations and small-dollar donations, but the momentum may be with Republicans. The number of individual donations to Democrats is up 64 percent, while the number of donations to Republican candidates is up 79 percent. The number of small-dollar donations (less than or equal to $100) to Democrats declined 14 percentage points compared to 2018, while it held steady for Republicans.

Click here to read the full Minnesota report on Ballotpedia.

North Carolina

Here’s what we found in North Carolina:

  • The overall contributions favor the Republicans, both in the aggregate and per candidate. As of the semiannual reports, Republican candidates for the General Assembly of North Carolina had raised $13.6 million, while Democrats had raised $12.4 million. Similarly, Republicans had raised on average $68,376, while Democrats had raised on average $59,545.
  • The percentage of change between 2018 and 2020 favors the Democrats in several metrics we studied. The number of individual donations to Democrats is up 64 percent, while the number of donations to Republican candidates is down 28 percent. Democrats have also seen a 92 percent increase in the number of small-dollar donations (less than or equal to $100) while these donations have declined for Republicans since 2018 by 23 percent.

Click here to read the full North Carolina report on Ballotpedia.

Ohio

Here’s what we found in Ohio:

  • The overall contributions favor the Republicans, both in the aggregate and per candidate. As of the semiannual reports, Republican candidates for the Ohio General Assembly had raised $14.9 million, while Democrats had raised $4.4 million. Similarly, Republicans had raised on average $101,326, while Democrats had raised on average $34,807.
  • The percentage of change between 2018 and 2020 favors the Democrats in several metrics we studied. For example, both parties have seen a decline in the number of small-donations (less than or equal to $100) to their candidates, but the percentage change compared to 2018 for Democrats is -12 percent, while Republicans have experienced a -32 percent change.

Click here to read the full Ohio report on Ballotpedia.

Pennsylvania

Here’s what we found in Pennsylvania:

  • The overall contributions favor the Democrats, both in the aggregate and per candidate. As of the semiannual reports, Democratic candidates for the Pennsylvania General Assembly had raised $22.8 million, while Republicans had raised $14.4 million. Similarly, Democrats had raised on average $86,702, while Republicans had raised on average $64,587.
  • The percentage of change between 2018 and 2020 also favors the Democrats in several metrics we studied. The number of Democratic candidates seeking office has dropped two percent compared to 2018 and their number of donations have dropped one percentage point. In contrast, Republicans saw a three percent increase in the number of candidates compared to 2018 and a 24 percent drop in the number of donations.

Click here to read the full Pennsylvania report on Ballotpedia.

Texas

Here’s what we found in Texas:

  • The overall contributions favor the Republicans, both in the aggregate and per candidate. As of the semiannual reports, Republican candidates for the Texas State Legislature had raised $28.3 million, while Democrats had raised $24.9 million. Similarly, Republicans had raised on average $152,953, while Democrats had raised on average $119,046.
  • The percentage of change between 2018 and 2020 favors the Democrats in several metrics we studied. The number of individual donations to Democrats is up 86 percent, while the number of donations to Republican candidates is down more than 27 percent.

Click here to read the full Texas report on Ballotpedia.

Wisconsin

Here’s what we found in Wisconsin:

  • The Democratic and Republican candidates are nearly tied in contributions, both in the aggregate and per candidate. As of the semiannual reports, Democrats had raised $3,290,398, and Republicans had raised $3,249,471. On average, Democrats had raised $20,437, while Republicans had raised on average $21,809.
  • The percentage of change between 2018 and 2020 tells another story. From several metrics we studied, the momentum may be with the Democrats. For example, the total amount raised for the Democrats is up 13 percent compared to 2018, while Republicans have seen a 22 percent decrease.

Update: These Wisconsin numbers were corrected January 26, 2021, to correct a previous mistake.

Click here to read the full Wisconsin report on Ballotpedia.

Limitations

The direct comparison between fundraising data from 2018 and 2020 is limited by at least two factors. First, the same seats and offices were not necessarily up for election in both years. For example, Michigan held elections for both chambers (the state Senate and House of Representatives) in 2018, but only for the House in 2020. Second, additional offices on the ballot in a year might affect the amount of money raised in state legislative elections. For example, among the states studied, Florida, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin all held gubernatorial elections alongside their state legislative elections in 2018 but not 2020.