In California, state-level candidates spent $168.3 million between Jan. 1, 2021, and Apr. 23, 2022. Democratic candidates spent $72.1 million and Republican candidates spent $72.4 million.
California Campaign Finance Snapshot (1/1/2021 – 4/23/2022)
Top 10 Democratic candidates, by expenditures (1/1/2021 – 4/23/2022)
In the 2022 election cycle, 224 state-level Democrats have filed campaign finance reports with the California Secretary of State. Here are the 10 Democratic candidates who have spent the most.
| Rank | Democratic Candidate | Total Spent |
| 1. | Rob Bonta | $5,941,171.37 |
| 2. | Gavin Newsom | $2,708,617.38 |
| 3. | Phil Ting | $2,703,935.86 |
| 4. | Jim Cooper | $2,638,908.61 |
| 5. | Marc Levine | $2,119,718.11 |
| 6. | Brian Maienschein | $1,969,735.69 |
| 7. | Matt Haney | $1,917,004.83 |
| 8. | Henry Stern | $1,826,378.00 |
| 9. | Robert Hertzberg | $1,785,048.25 |
| 10. | Shirley Weber | $1,687,412.28 |
Top 10 Republican candidates, by expenditures (1/1/2021 – 4/23/2022)
During the same time period, 111 Republicans have filed campaign finance reports with the California Secretary of State. These are the 10 Republican candidates with the highest reported expenditures for the 2022 election cycle so far.
| Rank | Republican Candidate | Total Spent |
| 1. | Larry Elder | $20,019,550.52 |
| 2. | John Cox | $19,307,416.33 |
| 3. | Kevin Faulconer | $5,778,428.01 |
| 4. | Kevin Kiley | $2,283,620.09 |
| 5. | Jenny Rae Le Roux | $1,725,222.36 |
| 6. | Nathan Hochman | $1,704,894.45 |
| 7. | James Gallagher | $1,483,522.98 |
| 8. | Frank Bigelow | $1,280,556.23 |
| 9. | Caitlyn Jenner | $1,245,420.18 |
| 10. | Brian Dahle | $1,204,587 |
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 California candidate PACs submitted to the California Secretary of State. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.
| Report Name | Due Date |
| Semiannual | 1/31/2022 |
| 1st Pre-Election – Primary | 4/28/2022 |
| 2nd Pre-Election – Primary | 5/26/2022 |
| Semiannual | 8/1/2022 |
| 1st Pre-Election – General | 9/29/2022 |
| 2nd Pre- Election – General | 10/27/2022 |
| Semiannual | 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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