Gov. Tim Walz heads into election year with huge cash advantage

Gov. Tim Walz raised more than $3.6 million in the past year, giving the first-term Democrat a massive early cash advantage over the throng of Republican opponents aiming to unseat him in November.

Former state Sen. Scott Jensen netted the most of any GOP challenger, raising more than $1.2 million and ending 2021 with about $807,000. Jensen entered the race about six months before other GOP candidates, including Neil Shah and state Sens. Michelle Benson and Paul Gazelka, whose combined totals amounted to nearly $986,000.

"This is an unprecedented number," Jensen's campaign said in a statement about his fundraising total, noting that Walz raised $1.1 million in 2017 during his first bid for governor. "The fundraising number breaks Tim Walz's record for a non-incumbent candidate in an off-year. Republicans have not come near this number in the past."

Candidates' fundraising in 2021, detailed in campaign finance reports released Tuesday, provide a springboard to get their names and messages in front of voters as election season ramps up. All eight Minnesota U.S. House seats are on the ballot this year, along with the 201 legislative seats and the state's constitutional officers, such as attorney general and secretary of state.

The potential rematch to represent the Second District is on track to be Minnesota's biggest-ticket congressional battleground in the November midterms when Democrats are at risk of losing the U.S. House. In the latest round of finance reports, DFL U.S. Rep. Angie Craig widened her financial advantage over Republican Tyler Kistner. Kistner lost a close race to Craig in 2020.

Craig's campaign reported raising about $876,000 from the start of October to the end of December, leaving the incumbent's campaign with more than $2.9 million to defend her swing district seat.

"I am incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support that we've received over the past year, which will allow us to continue doing the work that matters to voters of Minnesota's Second Congressional District," Craig said in a statement in January.

Kistner, the only GOP challenger to emerge against Craig so far, reported raising $310,000 in the past financial quarter. He trails Craig in cash on hand, with his campaign disclosing it had more than $170,000 at the end of the year.

"Our investments will pay off in 2022, as we will continue to raise the resources necessary to defeat Angie Craig and her Washington allies," Kistner campaign spokesman Tyler Dunn said in an email.

GOP Rep. Jim Hagedorn reported a total haul of more than $218,000 in the last three months of 2021, finishing the year with about $628,000. Hagedorn won his southern Minnesota district by about 3 percentage points in 2020 and has yet to draw a major DFL challenger this cycle.

In the suburban Third Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips reported raising more than $237,000 and has close to $686,000 in a race that so far has attracted three GOP challengers.

Looming over the state's congressional and legislative races this year is the once-a-decade redistricting process. Final lines for Minnesota's eight congressional districts and 201 legislative seats are expected to be released by the courts in two weeks.

Tuesday's reports show the candidates for governor at very different stages of fundraising. GOP candidate Kendall Qualls entered the race in January and didn't need to file campaign finance reports last year, and former Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek just entered the race as a Republican on Tuesday. Gazelka and Benson joined in September; Jensen entered in March, and Walz was fundraising all year.

"Our campaign raised $545,000 in less than four months, and we ended the year with $460,000 cash on hand," Gazelka said in a statement. He added that he had raised more per month than any other GOP candidate.

The candidates' fundraising numbers also only tell part of the campaign finance story. Political groups, such as those affiliated with the teachers union or business interests, have poured millions of dollars into past governors' races.

Nonetheless, Walz's campaign manager Nichole Johnson emphasized that the $3.6 million the governor's team raised and the $3.6 million cash on hand puts them in a strong position.

"Breaking this fundraising record through the support of grassroots donors shows that Minnesotans are ready to re-elect Governor Walz and Lt. Governor Flanagan and continue building on the progress they have made over the last three years," Johnson said in a statement.

Another indicator of gubernatorial candidates' support was expected Tuesday evening when party activists gathered across the state for precinct caucuses, where Republicans participated in straw polls asking their pick for governor.

Several Republican candidates are running for the statewide offices of attorney general and secretary of state. Attorney General Keith Ellison and Secretary of State Steve Simon, both Democrats, each received around $400,000 in 2021 to ward off challengers. Simon vastly outraised his GOP opponents, while Republicans hoping to unseat Ellison drew more money.

Former state Rep. Dennis Smith raised about $357,000, more than other Republican attorney general hopefuls. Smith and Ellison ended the year with about $240,000 in their accounts. Another former legislator, Doug Wardlow, who ran against Ellison in 2018, used up far more of the $269,500 he raised, ending the year with just $25,000.

Meanwhile in the fight to control the state House and Senate, Democratic caucuses pulled in more than their GOP counterparts. The House and Senate DFL each received about $1.7 million last year. Senate Republicans, who want to retain their majority, raised $1.5 million; House Republicans angling to take control of the chamber secured nearly $995,000.

The fundraising gap between the State DFL Party and the Republican Party of Minnesota was particularly dramatic. The DFL reported raised $6.4 million in its state and federal filings, not including transfers between funds. That total is about three times the amount the GOP received in 2021. Democratic-aligned groups in the state have long outraised Republicans.

Both committees burned through much of their cash, with the DFL ending the year with more than $1.6 million in its accounts while Republicans had almost $255,000.