CLEVELAND, Ohio - Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine's campaign fundraising may have slowed slightly, but the governor hopeful still commands a massive war chest that outranks the rest of the field combined heading into the May 8 primary.

An initial review showed a tough road ahead for Democrats looking to raise money in the governor's race. Campaign contributions were down overall across the spectrum less than two weeks before the primary, but Democrats still hold a meager sum overall compared to their Republican counterparts.

Former federal consumer watchdog Richard Cordray easily beat the rest of the Democratic field, but still trailed DeWine both for the period and overall.

The filing deadline includes fundraising from Jan. 31 to Apr. 26.

Republicans

What once seemed like an easy primary for DeWine has become more competitive in recent weeks after Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor loaned her campaign $3 million in January. (Her running mate, Nathan Estruth, loaned an additional $250,000.)

Since the infusion, DeWine has had to spend handsomely in the primary, though he certainly had the money to do it.

Taylor's newfound vigor for campaigning led her to attack DeWine on television in Southwest Ohio.

The ads may have had a positive effect for Taylor, with polls showing DeWine's wide lead narrowing.

DeWine carpetbombed the state in advertising to counter Taylor's negative advertising and her uptick in polling. The campaign spent nearly $4.7 million since January on advertising and media related purchases.

While a sizable sum, DeWine had cash of that kind to spend and ended the reporting period with $7.4 million cash on hand, comfortably ahead of any other candidate.

DeWine reported raising $1.7 million this reporting period and at face value could seem deflated for DeWine, but that's because of the monstrous sum he's already raised. Should he make it past the primary, DeWine has the luxury of going back to the donors who've already helped him raise more than $12 million in the race.

Taylor failed to see a significant uptick in fundraising, reporting $419,000 in contributions compared with $364,000 during the January reporting period. The lieutenant governor spent $1.9 million and still has more than $1.9 million to make a late push before the bulk of state votes.

The $3 million loan Taylor gave to her campaign was also repaid the same day she gave it to herself. State filings show the loan was taken out Jan. 26 and immediately repaid.

Taylor later re-loaned the $3 million to herself in the form of $500,000 on Mar. 27 and $2.5 million on Apr. 11. The campaign declined to comment on why the money was moved around so much.

Democrats

Cordray's fundraising totals were down overall as well at $1.3 million compared to more than $2 million in January. He spent $1.7 million and has $1.6 million cash on hand.

Former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich has kept the race competitive in the polls, but raised only $592,000. Kucinich has about $275,000 cash on hand.

Much of Cordray's and Kucinich's money came from out of state. Kucinich banked 44 percent of his donations from outside Ohio, while 30 percent of Cordray's came from other places.

In contrast, Republicans Taylor raised 85 percent of her donations from Ohio while DeWine's in-state contributions - excluding in-kind contributions, many of which are from the state party - totaled 91 percent.

State Sen. Joe Schiavoni and former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O'Neill lagged the rest of the candidates. Schiavoni brought in just more than $87,000 while O'Neill logged around $68,000. O'Neill also loaned himself $16,000.

The totals show a significant cash disadvantage for Democrats, both in terms of raising total funds and raising money in the state. The election will only get more difficult moving forward.

Outside and dark money has been limited to the Republican primary thus far, but is expected to pour into the state during the general election.

Financial interests such as payday lenders with deep pockets have a vested interest in ensuring Cordray does not win. Republican President Donald Trump also values keeping the state in Republican hands for his 2020 reelection.

A previous version of this article said Mike DeWine raised $1.2 million. It has been corrected to show DeWine raised $1.7 million.