In Minnesota, state-level candidates spent $7.90 million between Jan. 1, 2021, and Mar. 31, 2022. Democratic candidates spent $3.46 million and Republican candidates spent $3.51 million.
Minnesota Campaign Finance Snapshot (1/1/2021 – 3/31/2022)
Top 10 Democratic candidates, by expenditures (1/1/2021 – 3/31/2022)
In the 2022 election cycle, 327 state-level Democrats have filed campaign finance reports with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. Here are the 10 Democratic candidates who have spent the most.
| Rank | Democratic Candidate | Total Spent |
| 1. | Tim Walz | $1,838,105.67 |
| 2. | Keith Ellison | $272,299.80 |
| 3. | Steve Simon | $101,885.37 |
| 4. | Julie Blaha | $61,620.27 |
| 5. | Jamie Long | $43,780.72 |
| 6. | Melisa Franzen | $38,393.60 |
| 7. | Ryan Winkler | $36,240.88 |
| 8. | Melissa A Hortman | $34,841.03 |
| 9. | Nick Frentz | $33,922.37 |
| 10. | Erin Murphy | $33,330.09 |
Top 10 Republican candidates, by expenditures (1/1/2021 – 3/31/2022)
During the same time period, 284 Republicans have filed campaign finance reports with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. These are the 10 Republican candidates with the highest reported expenditures for the 2022 election cycle so far.
| Rank | Republican Candidate | Total Spent |
| 1. | Dr Jensen Scott | $716,280.38 |
| 2. | Doug Wardlow | $394,383.90 |
| 3. | Paul Gazelka | $384,929.20 |
| 4. | Kendall Qualls | $368,195.50 |
| 5. | Michelle R Benson | $301,601.97 |
| 6. | Dr Shah Neil | $280,987.27 |
| 7. | Dennis J Smith | $271,200.99 |
| 8. | Richard Stanek | $108,850.80 |
| 9. | James Schultz | $96,768.45 |
| 10. | Michael Murphy | $70,238.59 |
In some states, officeholders may make expenditures from their campaign accounts when they are not up for election. Those expenditures are included in candidate campaign finance numbers.
The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Minnesota candidate PACs submitted to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. 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.