Campaign Finance 101
Who funds campaigns, what PACs are, and why it matters.
Running for Congress is expensive. A competitive House race can cost $5-10 million. A Senate race in a large state can exceed $100 million. Where that money comes from shapes who runs, who wins, and what they do in office.
Individual donations: Regular people can give up to $3,300 per candidate per election (primary and general are separate elections, so effectively $6,600 per cycle). This is the cleanest form of campaign funding — citizens supporting candidates they believe in. You can see who donates to your member on their finance page.
PACs (Political Action Committees): Organizations — corporations, unions, trade associations — can create PACs to pool contributions from their employees or members. PACs can give up to $5,000 per candidate per election. When you see "PAC Contributions" on a member's profile, this is money from organized interest groups.
Super PACs: Created after the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision in 2010, Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited money — but they're not supposed to coordinate directly with campaigns. They run ads, mailers, and digital campaigns supporting or opposing candidates. When you see "Outside Spending" on a member's profile, this is Super PAC money.
Dark Money: Some nonprofit organizations (501(c)(4)s) can spend on elections without disclosing their donors. This is called "dark money" because the public can't see who's behind it.
Why it matters: When a member of Congress receives millions from the pharmaceutical industry and then votes against drug price caps, voters deserve to know. When a Super PAC funded by the oil industry spends $10 million supporting a candidate who then opposes climate legislation, that's a pattern worth understanding. The money doesn't prove corruption — but it reveals relationships and incentives that voters should factor into their decisions.