Database: Follow the money in the 2023 Indianapolis mayoral election

The 2023 Indianapolis mayoral election is flush with campaign cash, as Democratic incumbent Joe Hogsett and Republican challenger Jefferson Shreve reported over $20.7 million in contributions last month. In the 2019 mayoral race, candidates only raised about $6.5 million.

Candidates this year received hundreds of donations, including from corporations, developers, lawyers, and political action committees. Most of the money is local, but some contributions are from outside Indianapolis and the state. 

Under Indiana campaign finance law, candidates are required to file several forms during the election cycle, including a pre-primary report, a pre-election report, and large contributions reports. Local candidates file these reports with the Marion County Board of Elections and the reports are published on the city’s website.

But details in these reports are not searchable. And candidates don’t file consistent information. Some reports are blurry phone pictures or scans of printouts. That makes it difficult to get a sense of who is giving money to these campaigns.

To increase election transparency, WFYI created a searchable database of all contributions the Hogsett and Shreve campaigns received as of Nov. 3, 2023.

WFYI has made every effort to ensure the data is accurate. Please report any inaccuracy or error so we can correct it. 

Contact data journalist Zak Cassel at zcassel@wfyi.org and WFYI education editor Eric Weddle at eweddle@wfyi.org.