Campaign Finance

Our Campaign Finance records are compiled from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) disclosure database, state ethics commissions, and academic research projects like the Stanford DIME database. These records document political contributions to federal and state candidates, PACs, and political parties.

NOTE: Campaign contribution data is public information required by federal and state campaign finance laws. Contributions above certain thresholds must be disclosed including donor name, address, employer, and occupation. Records reflect filings as submitted to election agencies and may be amended.

What Is Campaign Finance Data?

Campaign finance data is the body of publicly disclosed records documenting how political campaigns and political organizations raise and spend money. In the United States, campaign finance disclosure is a cornerstone of election law, based on the principle that voters have a right to know who is funding the candidates and causes that seek their support. When individuals, corporations, labor unions, or other entities contribute money to political campaigns, those contributions are reported to government agencies and made available for public inspection.

The federal campaign finance system has its roots in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971, which was substantially amended in 1974 following the Watergate scandal. FECA established the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as an independent regulatory agency responsible for administering and enforcing federal campaign finance laws. The FEC requires candidates for federal office (President, Senate, and House of Representatives), political party committees, and political action committees (PACs) to file regular reports disclosing their receipts, expenditures, and debts. These reports are publicly available and form the backbone of federal campaign finance data.

At the state level, each of the 50 states has its own campaign finance laws and its own disclosure agency -- typically the Secretary of State's office, an ethics commission, or a dedicated election finance board. State laws govern contributions to candidates for state and local offices, including governor, state legislature, attorney general, judges, county commissioners, mayors, and school board members. The requirements, thresholds, and accessibility of state campaign finance data vary considerably from state to state.

Campaign finance data is distinct from other types of political data because it is entirely about financial transactions. It does not reveal how people voted or what political opinions they hold. It documents a specific, voluntary act -- giving money to a political campaign or organization -- and the legal framework requires that this act be disclosed above certain dollar thresholds, on the theory that the public has a right to know who is attempting to influence elections through financial support.

Federal vs. State Campaign Finance

Understanding the difference between federal and state campaign finance systems is important because they operate under different legal frameworks, different reporting requirements, and different disclosure agencies. The two systems are parallel but separate.

Federal Campaign Finance: The FEC oversees contributions to candidates for federal office (President, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives), as well as contributions to national party committees and federally registered PACs. Federal law requires that individual contributions of $200 or more to a federal candidate be "itemized" -- meaning the contributor's name, address, occupation, and employer are disclosed in the candidate's FEC filing. Contributions below $200 are reported in aggregate but are not individually itemized, so the donor's identity is not disclosed. Federal contribution limits are adjusted for inflation in odd-numbered years; for the 2025-2026 election cycle, individuals may contribute up to $3,300 per election to a candidate and up to $41,300 per year to a national party committee.

State Campaign Finance: Each state sets its own rules for contributions to state and local candidates. Some states have contribution limits similar to federal law, while others (like Oregon, Utah, and Virginia) have no limits on how much an individual can give to a state candidate. The itemization threshold -- the amount above which a donor's identity must be individually disclosed -- also varies by state. Some states require itemization of contributions as low as $25, while others set the threshold at $100, $200, or higher. State campaign finance data is filed with the relevant state agency and may or may not be easily accessible online, depending on the state's technology infrastructure and transparency policies.

Why This Matters for Data Users: When you search for a person's campaign contributions in our database, you may find records from both federal and state systems. A person who gives to both their U.S. House representative and their state senator will have contribution records in two different regulatory systems, each with its own reporting format and update schedule. Our database integrates records from multiple sources to provide the most comprehensive picture available, but users should be aware that coverage of state-level contributions is less complete than federal coverage due to the fragmented nature of state disclosure systems.

What Information Is Disclosed?

When a political contribution exceeds the itemization threshold, the law requires disclosure of several pieces of information about the donor. Understanding what is disclosed -- and what is not -- helps users interpret contribution records correctly.

Donor Name: The full name of the contributor as provided on their contribution form. This is typically the donor's legal name, but may include variations, nicknames, or abbreviations. A single person may appear in the database under slightly different name variations across multiple contributions (for example, "William Smith," "Bill Smith," and "Wm. Smith" could all be the same person).

Address: The contributor's mailing address as provided at the time of the contribution. Addresses in campaign finance records are self-reported by the donor and may include a home address, business address, or PO Box. Donors who move between contributions may have different addresses on different records, and there is no requirement that the address be verified by the receiving campaign.

Employer and Occupation: Federal law requires campaigns to request the employer and occupation of donors who contribute more than $200. This information helps identify the economic interests behind contributions and is one of the most useful fields for distinguishing between donors who share the same name. However, the data is self-reported and unstandardized -- one person might list their employer as "Google," "Alphabet Inc.," or "Google LLC" across different contributions, and occupations might be described as "Software Engineer," "Engineer," or "Tech Worker."

Contribution Amount: The dollar amount of each individual contribution. Contributions can range from a few dollars to the maximum allowed under federal or state law. A single donor may make multiple contributions to the same candidate throughout an election cycle, and each contribution is recorded as a separate transaction.

Contribution Date: The date the contribution was made (or, more precisely, the date the contribution was received by the campaign, which may differ from the date the check was written or the online transaction was processed).

Recipient Committee: The name and FEC identification number (or state equivalent) of the candidate, PAC, party committee, or other entity that received the contribution. This identifies who the donor was supporting with their financial contribution.

Understanding Contribution Records

Campaign finance data can be complex, and several aspects of contribution records require explanation to avoid common misunderstandings.

Individual vs. PAC Contributions: Contributions come from two main categories of donors. Individual contributions are made by private citizens from their personal funds. PAC (Political Action Committee) contributions are made by organizations that pool contributions from members, employees, or stakeholders and distribute them to candidates. PACs include corporate PACs, labor PACs, ideological PACs, and leadership PACs controlled by elected officials. Super PACs are a special category that can raise unlimited funds for independent expenditures but cannot contribute directly to candidates. When reviewing contribution records, it is important to note whether a contribution came from an individual or from an organizational PAC, as they are subject to different rules and limits.

Itemized vs. Aggregate Contributions: As noted above, only contributions that exceed a certain dollar threshold are individually itemized with the donor's name and details. Contributions below this threshold are reported as part of an aggregate total of "unitemized" contributions. This means that if a person gives $50 to a federal candidate, their name will not appear in the FEC database for that contribution. However, if the same person makes multiple small contributions to the same candidate that cumulatively exceed $200 during an election cycle, the campaign is required to retroactively itemize all of that person's contributions. This can result in a batch of records appearing in the database at once, all for the same donor-candidate pair.

Contribution Limits: Federal law limits how much an individual can give to a specific candidate, party committee, or PAC during each election cycle. These limits are enforced by the FEC, and campaigns are required to return contributions that exceed the limits. When a refund or redesignation occurs, it appears in the campaign finance data as a negative contribution or as an offsetting transaction. State contribution limits vary widely -- some states have limits similar to federal law, others have much higher or lower limits, and a few states have no limits at all.

Refunds and Redesignations: Not every record in the campaign finance database represents money flowing from a donor to a campaign. Refunds occur when a campaign returns a contribution -- perhaps because the donor exceeded the contribution limit, because the campaign chose to return the contribution for reputational reasons, or because the donor requested a refund. Redesignations occur when a contribution is moved from one election (primary) to another (general) or from one committee to another. These transactions appear as negative amounts or specially coded entries in the data.

Key Data Sources

Our campaign finance database integrates records from several major data sources, each with its own strengths and coverage characteristics.

FEC Disclosure Database: The Federal Election Commission maintains the official repository of federal campaign finance filings. All candidates for federal office, party committees, and PACs that operate at the federal level must file regular disclosure reports with the FEC. These reports are processed and made available through the FEC's public database. The FEC database is the most comprehensive source for federal campaign finance data and covers elections from 1979 to the present. Data is updated as new filings are received and processed, which typically happens on a rolling basis with major updates occurring around filing deadlines.

Stanford DIME Project: The Database on Ideology, Money in Politics, and Elections (DIME) is an academic research project maintained by Stanford University. DIME integrates federal and state campaign finance records into a unified dataset, applies sophisticated entity resolution techniques to link contributions from the same donor across different records, and assigns ideological scores to both donors and recipients based on their contribution patterns. The DIME database is particularly valuable for researchers studying political ideology, donor networks, and the relationship between money and political outcomes. It contains over 690 million contribution records spanning federal and state elections.

State Ethics Commissions: Each state maintains its own campaign finance disclosure system for state and local elections. These systems are operated by various agencies -- Secretaries of State, ethics commissions, election boards, or campaign finance regulatory bodies, depending on the state. The quality, accessibility, and format of state campaign finance data varies enormously. Some states provide well-organized, machine-readable data through modern online portals, while others offer only PDF filings or require in-person inspection. We incorporate state-level data where it is available and accessible, but coverage of state elections is less comprehensive than our federal coverage.

How to Interpret Campaign Finance Data

Campaign finance records are raw data, and interpreting them correctly requires understanding several common patterns and potential pitfalls.

Duplicate Appearances: A single donor often appears dozens or even hundreds of times in the campaign finance database. This is not an error -- it reflects the fact that politically active individuals make many separate contributions over time, to different candidates, PACs, and party committees. Each individual contribution is recorded as a separate transaction. A person who gives $100 per month to a candidate for 12 months will have 12 separate records in the database, not one record for $1,200.

Employer and Occupation Variations: Because employer and occupation fields are self-reported by donors on their contribution forms, the same person may describe their employment differently on different contributions. A Google employee might list their employer as "Google," "Google Inc.," "Google LLC," "Alphabet," or "Alphabet Inc." Their occupation might appear as "Software Engineer," "Engineer," "Software Developer," "Programmer," or "Technology." Sophisticated entity resolution techniques can help link these variations, but the raw data will always contain inconsistencies.

Timing of Disclosures: Campaign finance reports are filed on a periodic schedule, not in real-time. Federal candidates file quarterly or monthly reports during election years, and semi-annually during off-years. Pre-election reports are filed shortly before primary and general elections. This means there are periods where recent contributions have been made but not yet disclosed. Between filing deadlines, the public database may not reflect the most current activity. Additionally, there is a processing lag between when a report is filed and when it appears in the searchable database.

Context Matters: A single contribution record tells you that a person gave a specific amount to a specific political entity on a specific date. It does not tell you why they gave, whether they support all of the recipient's positions, or whether the contribution represents a significant commitment or a casual gesture. A $25 contribution to a local candidate may represent enthusiastic grassroots support, while a maximum-dollar contribution to a Senate candidate may reflect a donor's professional or business interests. Interpreting the broader significance of contribution patterns requires looking at the full picture -- total amounts, number of recipients, ideological range, and how the donor's giving compares to their peers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are all political donations public record?

Not all donations are publicly disclosed at the individual level. At the federal level, only contributions of $200 or more to a specific candidate during an election cycle must be individually itemized with the donor's name, address, employer, and occupation. Contributions below $200 are reported in aggregate totals without identifying the donor. State thresholds vary -- some states require disclosure of contributions as low as $25, while others have higher thresholds. Additionally, contributions to certain types of organizations, such as 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, may not be publicly disclosed at all, which is sometimes referred to as "dark money."

Why does the same person appear many times in the database?

Campaign finance databases record each individual contribution as a separate transaction. A politically active person who gives to multiple candidates, PACs, and party committees over several election cycles will have many separate entries. For example, someone who contributes monthly to a candidate, donates to their national party committee, supports several PACs, and has been politically active for 20 years could easily have hundreds of individual contribution records. Each record represents a discrete financial transaction, not a summary of the person's overall giving.

Can I opt out of having my campaign contributions disclosed?

No. Campaign finance disclosure is mandated by law, and there is no opt-out mechanism for individual donors. If you contribute more than the itemization threshold to a federal candidate, your name, address, occupation, and employer will be reported to the FEC and made publicly available. This is a deliberate policy choice -- the Supreme Court has upheld disclosure requirements as serving the government's interest in informing voters about the sources of campaign funding and deterring corruption. The only way to avoid individual disclosure is to keep your contributions to any single candidate below the itemization threshold.

How far back does the campaign finance data go?

Our federal campaign finance data extends back to the 1979-1980 election cycle, which is when the FEC's electronic filing systems began capturing data in a format suitable for digital databases. Earlier records exist in paper form at the FEC but are not part of the electronic database. State-level data coverage varies -- some states have digitized records going back to the 1990s, while others only have electronic records from more recent years. The Stanford DIME database, which we incorporate, includes records spanning several decades of both federal and state elections.

What is the difference between a PAC and a Super PAC?

A traditional PAC (Political Action Committee) raises money from individuals, corporations, or unions and contributes directly to candidates. PACs are subject to contribution limits -- they can give up to $5,000 per candidate per election. A Super PAC (officially known as an "independent expenditure-only committee") can raise unlimited funds from individuals, corporations, and unions, but it cannot contribute directly to candidates or coordinate with their campaigns. Instead, Super PACs spend money independently on advertisements, mailings, and other communications that advocate for or against candidates. Super PAC donors are disclosed in FEC filings, just like regular PAC and candidate donors.

Why do contribution amounts sometimes show as negative?

Negative contribution amounts in campaign finance records represent refunds, returns, or redesignations. A refund occurs when a campaign returns a contribution to a donor -- perhaps because the contribution exceeded legal limits, the campaign decided to return it for policy or ethical reasons, or the donor requested a refund. A redesignation occurs when a contribution originally designated for one election (such as the primary) is moved to another election (such as the general). These offsetting entries are necessary for accounting accuracy and ensure that contribution totals reflect the actual amounts retained by the campaign.

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