California Gov. Newsom Receives $14.9 Million, With First Foundation Bank As Top Donor

By Kalyn Stralow | Ballotpedia via The Center Square, The Center Square California

October 17, 2022

Gov. Gavin Newsom is the number two fundraiser in California state politics in the 2022 election cycle so far. According to campaign finance reports made to the California Secretary of State, "the governor received $14,884,261 in total contributions and spent $18,165,007 between Jan. 1, 2021, and Sept. 24, 2022. Newsom is running for re-election in 2022."

Gov. Newsom is a member of the Democratic Party and first assumed office in 2019.

Gov. Newsom’s reported campaign finance activity, by quarter (2018-2022)

Source: Transparency USA

Contributions to Gov. Newsom

Of the $14.9 million already reported in the 2022 election cycle, 4.8 percent came from the top 10 donors.

Top Donors to Gov. Newsom (1/1/2021 – 9/24/2022)

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*Donors who gave the same amount are listed in alphabetical order. An additional 42 donors also contributed $64,800 this cycle.

Expenditures by Gov. Newsom

On the expenditures side, Gov. Newsom reported over $18.2 million, with 69.1 percent of all spending going to the 10 payees topping the list.

Top Expenditures by Gov. Newsom (1/1/2021 – 9/24/2021)

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How Gov. Newsom’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 Gov. Newsom 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 California 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.

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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.

The focus of the work of The Center Square California is state and local-level government and economic reporting that approaches stories with a taxpayer sensibility.