Much like the Olympics, every two years elections sneak up on us; inundating our televisions with ads, populating street corners with competing signs, and celebrating America's unique political process through raucous debates and impassioned pleas for our votes.
All of that requires money, and money comes from donations from individuals and political action committees.
How much has each candidate received, how much have they spent, and what about independent expenditures (money advocating for or against a candidate but not made in conjunction with that candidate or those associated with the candidate)?
Here's a break down of the top Republican candidates for governor.
This data was obtained on 7/19/2022 from See The Money, a government website run by the Arizona Secretary of State's Office.
| Candidate | Income | Expenses | Independent Expenditures For | Independent Expenditures Against |
| Kari Lake | $3,556,705 | $3,147,960 | $1,000,000 | $377,885 |
| Karrin Taylor Robson | $16,546,702 | $16,447,082 | $1,267,427 | $1,398,900 |
Let's now take a look at the top Democratic candidates for governor.
| Candidate | Income | Expenses | Independent Expenditures For | Independent Expenditures Against |
| Katie Hobbs | $4,227,173 | $3,122,369 | $62,864 | $187,368 |
| Aaron Lieberman | $1,436,898 | $659,030 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Marco Lopez | $1,757,590 | $1,490,630 | $26,000 | $0.00 |
——-
Sean Newgent has been with KGUN9 since January of 2020 and is Good Morning Tucson's executive producer. He graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in broadcast journalism. He is a critic and cultural commentator. Share your story ideas and important issues with Sean by emailing sean.newgent@kgun9.com.