While national groups like governors' associations were among the top donors for state-level elections across the country in 2014, in Oklahoma it was candidates themselves who spent the most money trying to win elections last year.
A new analysis from the Washington-based Center for Public Integrity shows the top single donor to a state-level election in Oklahoma was former Republican State Superintendent Janet Barresi, who gave $1.3 million to her own unsuccessful re-election campaign.
A distant second on Oklahoma's list was former Republican state Sen. Cliff Branan, who spent about $350,000 on his failed bid for a seat on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
The other top Oklahoma donors were the Chickasaw Nation with $310,000, Labor Commissioner Mark Costello with $275,000 and Republican state Senate candidate Joe Howell with $203,000.
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