COLUMBIA, S.C. — In the days leading to the Nov. 8 election, an avalanche of mail, television ads, billboards, and yard signs are reaching South Carolina voters.
There's no telling who will be victorious on election day, but public records can tell us who raised the most cash during the campaign season.
Candidates are required to report those figures to the State Ethics Commission.
"Money represents a well of votes they’re gonna get anyways," said University of South Carolina political science professor Joshua Meyer-Gutbrod. "So when you see a candidate really outraising another candidate, it's a strong indication that they’re gonna have a lot of success."
Gutbrod added there are several factors that impact elections much more than candidate spending.
"Especially in a state like South Carolina, incumbency is huge and partisanship is really important as well," said Meyer-Gutbrod.
He added this year's midterm is less expensive than past years.
"This year we don’t have a ton of super hotly contested races, so the spending is pretty much on par for the state in various offices that are running," Meyer-Gutbrod.
Governor's Race
The Governor's race is running the most ads on TV and that's being fueled by more money for both campaigns.
Republican Gov. Henry McMaster's campaign has raised more than $7.6 million and has more than $2 million in cash on hand.
His democratic competitor Joe Cunningham has raised $3.4 million and has $220,000 in cash on hand. Since his campaign launch, Cunningham has received 36,000 contributions.
State Superintendent of Education
A closer race financially is the race to be the next state superintendent of education.
Democrat Lisa Ellis has raised $228,000 and has $39,000 in cash on hand.
Republican Ellen Weaver has raised $741,000 and has $136,000 remaining.
Weaver's donors are made up of mostly financiers, business executives, and school choice advocates.
Ellis, on the other hand, has relied heavily on educators for campaign cash.
Local State House Races
Fundraising shrinks even more in local elections like the State House of Representatives.
For House District 75 in Richland County, Incumbent Republican Kirkman Finlay has raised $158,000 and has $3,000 remaining.
His Democratic challenger, Heather Bauer, has raised $50,000 and has $10,000 remaining.
"When you move down to the state legislative races where you have much smaller geographic areas, that's where start talking mailers and never discount the importance of yard signs," said Gutbrod.
According to Open Secrets, the total cost of 2022 state and federal midterm elections could exceed $16 billion.