In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine is the number one fundraiser in state politics in the 2022 election cycle so far. According to campaign finance reports made to the Ohio Secretary of State, the governor received $15,081,386 in total contributions and spent $6,800,936 between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022. DeWine is running for re-election in 2022.
Gov. DeWine is a member of the Republican Party and first assumed office in 2019.
Gov. DeWine’s reported campaign finance activity, by quarter (2017-2022)
Source: Transparency USA
Contributions to Gov. DeWine
Of the $15 million already reported in the 2022 election cycle, 18.3 percent came from the top 10 donors.
Top Donors to Gov. DeWine (1/1/2021 – 6/30/2022)
| Rank | Total Amount | Donor Name | Donor Type |
| 1. | $2,479,859.64 | Ohio Republican State Central & Executive Committee State Candidate Fund | ENTITY |
| 2. | $44,804.41 | John A Payiavlas | INDIVIDUAL |
| 3. | $37,825.80 | Leslie Miller | INDIVIDUAL |
| 4. | $35,650.00 | Eric Wagenbrenner | INDIVIDUAL |
| 5. | $35,000.00 | Mandi and Brian Yeager | INDIVIDUAL |
| 6. | $33,000.00 | Sheet Metal Workers Local 33 Akron District Cope | ENTITY |
| 7. | $32,699.59 | Barbara J Siemer | INDIVIDUAL |
| 8. | $32,404.41 | Dean Kereiakes | INDIVIDUAL |
| 9. | $30,608.82 | George A Skestos | INDIVIDUAL |
| 10. | $29,700.00 | Ohio Coal PAC | ENTITY |
Expenditures by Gov. DeWine
On the expenditures side, Gov. DeWine reported $6.8 million with 93.8 percent of all spending going to the 10 payees topping the list.
Top Expenditures by Gov. DeWine (1/1/2021 – 6/30/2022)
| Rank | Total Amount | Payee Name | Payee Type |
| 1. | $4,906,585.88 | SRCP Media Inc | ENTITY |
| 2. | $603,276.00 | Arena Online | ENTITY |
| 3. | $323,568.22 | Tarrance Group | ENTITY |
| 4. | $150,000.00 | Deep Root Analytics LLC | ENTITY |
| 5. | $130,473.37 | Ohio Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs | ENTITY |
| 6. | $98,851.76 | Dot the I Design and Graphics | ENTITY |
| 7. | $52,381.97 | Stripe | ENTITY |
| 8. | $48,000.00 | America Rising Corp | ENTITY |
| 9. | $39,581.47 | Kessler Creative | ENTITY |
| 10. | $31,794.10 | Colorart | ENTITY |
How Gov. DeWine’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 Ohio Gov. DeWine 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 Ohio PACs submitted to the Ohio 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 |
| 2021 Annual | 1/1/21 – 12/31/22 | 1/31/2022 |
| 2022 Pre-Primary | 1/1/22 – 4/13/22 | 4/21/2022 |
| 2022 Post-Primary | 1/1/22 -6/3/22 | 6/10/2022 |
| 2022 Semiannual | 1/1/22 – 6/30/22 | 7/29/2022 |
| 2022 Pre-General | 1/1/22 – 10/19/22 | 10/27/2022 |
| 2022 Post- General | 1/1/22 – 12/9/22 | 12/16/2022 |
| 2022 Annual | 1/1/22 – 12/31/22 | 1/31/2022 |
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.