Memphis

Paul Bailey — 2026 Tennessee Senate, District 15 campaign

Tennessee Senate, District 15 Republican Incumbent

2026 Tennessee Senate, District 15

Won the nomination 31,201 votes · 100% reported results

Latest filing: Pre-Primary 2026 · Sep 7, 2026 · source: TN Registry of Election Finance

9 filings · Mid-Year 2023–Q2 2026

Cash on Hand The campaign’s ending cash balance from its most recent filing. Cash shown as “carried over” was held before this election cycle began — usually from a prior campaign for the same office. Full definition →
$398,559
$223,599 carried over
Why this number?
Raised (cash) Cash and cash-like receipts the campaign took in: contributions, the candidate’s own money, loans, and transfers from affiliated committees. Donated goods and services are not cash; they appear separately as In-Kind Received. Bookkeeping entries such as a carried balance, accounting adjustment, or refund also stay only in the filing’s own totals. Full definition →
$873,000
includes $460 in small gifts the filer reported as a lump sum
Why this number?
In-Kind Received Goods or services donated to the campaign instead of cash — say, free printing or donated consulting — reported at fair-market value. Counted toward the same $200 disclosure threshold as cash gifts. Full definition →
$1,801
goods or services
Total Spent
$630,756
Why this number?
Donors
409
total donors; qualifying names are listed below
Self-Funded
9%
$79,000 of $874,801 raised, including in-kind · campaign loans
Out-of-State
13%
$115,700 from outside TN
Why this number?

Cash on hand is the amount reported on the filing listed below.

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The ending cash balance the campaign reported on its most recent filing (as filed, not computed).

Reported on this filing:

Raised (cash) adds together the amounts listed below.

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Sum of every cash receipt bucket: itemized contributions from others + the candidate's own contributions + loans + filer-stated unitemized + (federal) transfers and other receipts. Excludes the value of donated goods & services, shown separately as In-Kind Received. Note: a separate cross-filing check found a loan-balance carryforward discontinuity in the filings behind this figure. The reports have not been reconciled to determine the cause of the unexplained balance change.

Inputs behind Raised (cash)
Itemized contributions from others $793,540
Loans received $79,000
Unitemized contributions (filer-stated lump sum) $460
Raised (cash) $873,000
From each filing:
  • Pre-Primary 2026 Amendment $10,700 derived
  • Q2 2026 Amendment $10,650 derived
  • Year-End 2025 Amendment $311,455 mixed
    • Itemized contributions from others $311,415 derived
    • Unitemized contributions (filer-stated lump sum) $40 filing-stated
  • Mid-Year 2025 Amendment $8,000 derived
Show 3 more filings
  • Year-End 2024 Amendment $171,170 mixed
    • Itemized contributions from others $170,750 derived
    • Unitemized contributions (filer-stated lump sum) $420 filing-stated
  • Mid-Year 2024 Supplemental $2,000 derived
  • Year-End 2023 Amendment $280,025 derived
Not attributable to a single filing:
Loans $79,000 derived

Filings restate outstanding loans each period, so a loan belongs to the campaign rather than to any one filing.

Total spent adds together the amounts listed below.

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Itemized expenditure rows plus the stated spending a filer reported as a lump sum without itemizing it.

Inputs behind Total spent
Itemized expenditures $630,756
Total spent $630,756
From each filing:
Show 5 more filings

Out-of-state share compares itemized money from outside tennessee with raised incl. in-kind.

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Itemized contributions from a state other than Tennessee, divided by everything the campaign raised (shown only when the state of most itemized money is known — above 99% coverage).

Itemized money from outside Tennessee: $115,700 ÷ Raised incl. in-kind: $874,801
Inputs behind Out-of-state share
From outside Tennessee $115,700
Source filings:
Raised incl. in-kind
$874,801
Spent
$630,756

Who funds this campaign The sources split breaks down everything the campaign raised: the candidate’s own money (including self-loans), individuals (including unitemized small gifts), organizations and PACs, and “other” (in-kind contributions, loans other than the candidate’s, and the like) — open its “Why this number?” for the full breakdown. Gift-size and location figures cover itemized contributions only. Aggregates count everyone who gave, including donors below the $200 disclosure floor — a share across all donors identifies no one. Full definition →

The candidate’s own money made up 9% of the campaign’s funds — individuals gave 37%, organizations and PACs 54%.

Candidate’s own money $79K · 9% Individuals $324K · 37% Organizations & PACs $470K · 54%
Why this number?

Share from the candidate compares from the candidate's own money with everything the campaign raised.

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Everything the campaign raised, split into the candidate's own money (own contributions plus self- and family loans), individuals, organizations and PACs, and everything else — loans other than the candidate's, in-kind contributions, and (for federal filers) committee transfers and other receipts. Unitemized small donations count as individual money. The parts add up to the total raised. The headline share is the candidate divided by the total.

From the candidate's own money: $79,000 ÷ Everything the campaign raised: $874,801
Inputs behind Share from the candidate
Candidate's own money (incl. self-loans) $79,000
From individuals $323,700
From organizations and PACs $470,300
In-kind contributions (goods & services) $1,801
Source filings:

Gift size Each individual donor’s total giving to this campaign this cycle. Organizations, PACs, and the candidate’s own money are excluded (this is about people); a donor who gave under several name spellings is counted once. A donor named on the page can still sit in a small bucket — these are cycle totals, not “unnamed donors.” Full definition →

$1,202average gift
$1,000median gift
269individual donors
Share of donors Share of dollars
Under $50
0.4%
0.1%
$50–200
5%
0.5%
$200–1K
32%
9%
$1K–5K
62%
89%
$5K+
0.4%
2%
Why this number?

Average gift per individual donor compares total from individual donors with individual donors.

Show formula

Every individual donor's total contributions to this campaign, divided by the number of individual donors. Organizations and PACs are excluded (this measures people); a donor who gave under several name spellings is counted once. The median and the gift-size buckets are computed over the same individual-donor totals. Based on itemized contributions only (loans and money a filer reported as an unitemized lump sum are not included).

Total from individual donors: $323,240 ÷ Individual donors: 269
Inputs behind Average gift per individual donor
Total from individual donors $323,240
Median gift $1,000
Individual donors 269
Source filings:

Where the money comes from Shares of itemized dollars, by the contributor’s state and city as filed. A city is named only when at least 5 donors gave from it or it holds at least 5% of the located dollars; everyone else is grouped into “elsewhere.” Shown only when at least 80% of dollars carry a usable state. Full definition →

85% of located dollars came from within Tennessee (15% from out of state).

Tennessee $677,840 Out of state $115,700
  • Nashville $227K29%
  • Cookeville $109K14%
  • Chattanooga $53K7%
  • Washington, DC $48K6%
  • Brentwood $39K5%
  • Elsewhere in Tennessee $250K
  • Other out-of-state $68K
Why this number?

Out-of-state share of located dollars compares itemized money from outside tennessee with itemized money with a known state.

Show formula

Itemized contribution dollars from outside Tennessee, divided by all itemized dollars whose contributor state is known. A city is named only when at least 5 donors gave from it OR it holds at least 5% of the located dollars; everyone else is grouped into elsewhere-in-Tennessee and other-out-of-state. Shown only above 99% state coverage. Based on itemized contributions only (loans and money a filer reported as an unitemized lump sum are not included).

Itemized money from outside Tennessee: $115,700 ÷ Itemized money with a known state: $793,540
Inputs behind Out-of-state share of located dollars
From outside Tennessee $115,700
Source filings:

Contributions & Spending Over Time

Itemized monetary contributions and expenditures by month — Jan 2023 – Jul 2026. Peak $120,550 in Jan 2026. Spending peaked at $66,873 in Jan 2026.

Cash contributions Spent

Contributions

The donor total above includes everyone who gave. This table names donors whose cumulative giving reached $200. Smaller donors contributed $1,440 total; their names are not disclosed here.

Named donor list 598 donations

Campaign contributions consolidated by donor, ranked by net amount
Donor Donations Net
Blue Cross Blue Shield of TN PAC 6 $47,500.00
TN Advance Financial PAC 3 $20,000.00
Tennessee Bankers Assn PAC 2 $15,000.00
Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailers Good Gov't Fund PAC 3 $13,000.00
Tennessee Highway Contractors PAC 5 $12,500.00
HCA TriStar Fund PAC 3 $12,500.00
Amazon.com Services LLC PAC 3 $12,000.00
Cigna Corporation Employee PAC 4 $12,000.00
Concerned Automotive Retailers PAC 4 $10,000.00
Harris Frazier PAC 2 $10,000.00

Expenditures

185 vendors 588 payments

Campaign payments consolidated by vendor, ranked by total
Vendor Payments Total Share
Kaegi Resources 6 $119,823.07 19%
Herald Citizen 38 $62,841.00 10%
Margin of Victory Partners 12 $44,911.00 7%
Trilight Communications, LLC 6 $30,120.00 5%
Helen's Restaurant 3 $29,073.32 5%
Duck Pond Manor 2 $26,853.00 4%
Crossville Chronicle 35 $25,642.77 4%
Cygnal 1 $15,000.00 2%
Tennessee Legislative Campaign Committee 4 $14,000.00 2%
Beacon Impact 6 $12,845.00 2%

Loans

$79,000.00 in loan principal shown. The filings date all of it to this campaign. Later reports can repeat an outstanding loan, so each reconstructed lender balance is counted once below.

Why this number?

Loan principal shown adds together the amounts listed below.

Show formula

Loan schedules can repeat an outstanding debt on later reports. This is the reconstructed principal for each lender, counted once, split between candidate or family loans and all other lenders. Repayments and outstanding balances are shown separately in the ledger.

Inputs behind Loan principal shown
Candidate and family loans $79,000
Loan principal shown $79,000
Source filings:
Itemized campaign loans
Lender Type Received Principal Repaid Outstanding
Self (Paul Bailey) Candidate loan — $79,000.00 $5,262.90 $73,737.10

Where the money went Each expenditure carries a short description of what it was for, written by the campaign. We sort those descriptions into a fixed set of categories; one expenditure goes in one category, so the amounts add up to Paul Bailey’s itemized spending. Descriptions that don’t clearly fit a category are counted under Other rather than guessed at.

  • Consulting & professional services $217,038 34%
  • Advertising & media $143,062 23%
  • Fundraising & events $97,747 15%
  • Contributions & donations $83,968 13%
  • Other $41,417 7%
  • Office & operations $20,952 3%
  • Printing & mail $13,522 2%
  • Travel $8,795 1%
  • Field & voter contact $4,255 0.7%

Loans

Campaign loans
Lender Amount Date Received Outstanding Repaid

Each loan shows its balance as of the candidate's most recent filing; repayments since then appear when the next report is filed.

Filing History

Totals as filed with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance; see About for how this data is processed.

Campaign filing history
Filing Cash Beginning Cash Ending Source
Pre-Primary 2026 Amended $395,274.31 $398,559.33 Source ↗
Q2 2026 Amended $472,008.70 $395,274.31 Source ↗
Q1 2026 Amended $500,460.14 $472,008.70 Source ↗
Year-End 2025 Amended $335,955.83 $500,460.14 Source ↗
Mid-Year 2025 Amended $413,655.84 $335,955.83 Source ↗
Year-End 2024 Amended $313,694.08 $413,655.84 Source ↗
Mid-Year 2024 $391,562.16 $313,694.08 Source ↗
Year-End 2023 Amended $174,470.76 $391,562.16 Source ↗
Mid-Year 2023 Amended $223,599.47 $174,470.76 Source ↗