General elections for 17 of 33 seats in the Ohio State Senate will take place on Nov. 8, 2022. State senatorial primary elections were held on Aug. 2, 2022. Republicans hold a 25-8 majority heading into the election.

This article details the five candidates in each party who raised the most money and lost their primary election. In the 2022 election cycle, four of 17 Republican primaries and seven of 14 Democratic primaries were contested. The losing candidates are shown along with the percentage of the vote they received compared to the primary winner. In cases where the race was pushed to a runoff, vote percentages for both advancing candidates are included.

Top fundraisers with unsuccessful primary campaigns this cycle

This information comes from candidate reports to the Ohio Secretary of State covering the period of Jan. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2022.

The Democratic candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary were:

• John E. Barnes Jr. – $7,100 – District 21 (Lost primary 39% – 61%)
• Chrissie Hinshaw – $0 – District 19 (Lost primary 31% – 69%)
• Elizabeth Thien – $0 – District 25 (Lost primary 0% – 100%)

The Republican candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary were:

• Kirsten Hill – $9,720 – District 13 (Lost primary 32% – 68%)
• Austin Kaiser – $0 – District 7 (Lost primary 0% – 100%)
• Tom Hwang – $0 – District 17 (Lost primary 22% – 78%)

Top fundraisers with unsuccessful primary campaigns last cycle

This information comes from candidate reports to the Ohio Secretary of State covering the period of Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2020.

The Democratic candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary in 2020 were:

• Reem Subei – $91,046 – District 2 (Lost primary 48% – 52%)
• Troy Doucet – $51,421 – District 16 (Lost primary 15% – 79%)
• Mark Bailey – $1,297 – District 16 (Lost primary 6% – 79%)
• Albert Griggs Jr. – $1,000 – District 6 (Lost primary 18% – 82%)

The Republican candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary in 2020 were:

• Melissa Ackison – $185,074 – District 26 (Lost primary 35% – 65%)
• Ron Falconi – $63,946 – District 22 (Lost primary 23% – 58%)
• Candice Keller – $63,571 – District 4 (Lost primary 33% – 49%)
• Rachel Selby – $33,605 – District 6 (Lost primary 23% – 64%)
• Lee Wong – $31,600 – District 4 (Lost primary 18% – 49%)

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Ohio PACs submitted to the Ohio Secretary of State. Federal PACs are not required to report to state agencies. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.

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.