Political Campaigns And Pacs: Separate Entities?

Political action committees (PACs) are organizations that raise and distribute campaign funds to candidates seeking political office. They are typically formed to represent business, labor, or ideological interests. PACs are subject to various restrictions on how they can fundraise and donate to political campaigns. For instance, they can contribute up to $5,000 to a candidate committee per election and are required to disclose information about their contributors. On the other hand, political campaigns refer to the organized efforts and activities undertaken by candidates and their teams to promote their platform and gain public support during an election. So, while PACs are focused on raising and distributing funds, political campaigns utilize those funds for their election efforts. Given their distinct roles and regulations, it is important to understand the interplay between PACs and political campaigns and how they influence the electoral landscape.

Are Political Campaigns and Political Action Committees (PACs) Kept Separate?

Explore related products

Campaign Finance: What Everyone Needs to Know®

$12.77 $16.95

The Campaign Manager

$40.62 $62.99

Campaign Finance and Political Polarization: When Purists Prevail

$29.95

The Campaign Finance Cases: Buckley, McConnell, Citizens United, and McCutcheon (Landmark Law Cases and American Society)

$20.67 $29.99

Campaign Finance & American Democracy: What the Public Really Thinks and Why It Matters

$2.99 $32

The Fallacy of Campaign Finance Reform

$29.17 $32

Leadership PACs

Political action committees (PACs) are a way for like-minded Americans to pool contributions to fund political campaigns of candidates that support issues and ideologies shared by the donating group. PACs are typically formed to represent business, labour, or ideological interests.

Super PACs

The rise of super PACs can be attributed to two judicial decisions in 2010: Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and Speechnow.org v. FEC. In the latter, the federal Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that PACs that did not make contributions to candidates, parties, or other PACs could accept unlimited donations from individuals, unions, and corporations.

The distinction between super PACs and traditional PACs lies in the amount of money they can raise. While super PACs can raise unlimited funds, traditional PACs are subject to strict limits on the amount of money they can receive from corporations, unions, or individuals.

Despite the lack of direct coordination with candidates, super PACs can still exert influence on campaigns. They can discuss campaign strategy and tactics with candidates through the media. Additionally, there have been concerns about the potential for quid pro quo arrangements between candidates and super PAC contributors, which could lead to bribery and corruption.

In 2025, the "Abolish Super PACs Act" was introduced in an attempt to curb the influence of super PACs. The Act aims to place a $5,000 per calendar year limit on contributions to super PACs, effectively ending their ability to raise unlimited funds.

Campaign finance reform

Political Action Committees (PACs) are organizations that raise and distribute campaign funds to candidates seeking political office. They are generally formed by corporations, labour unions, trade associations, or other organizations or individuals. The first PAC was created in 1944 by the Congress of Industrial Organizations, which sought to raise funds to assist the reelection of the President.

In the United States, the first federal campaign finance law was passed in 1867, a Naval Appropriations Bill that prohibited officers and government employees from soliciting contributions from Navy yard workers. Later, the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 established the civil service and extended the protections of the Naval Appropriations Bill to all federal civil service workers. However, the loss of this funding source increased pressure on parties to solicit funding from corporations and wealthy individuals.

Following the 1901 assassination of President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt began his first term. He initially focused on trust-busting and anti-corporate-influence activities, but fearing defeat in the 1904 election, he turned to bankers and industrialists for support. Roosevelt was embarrassed by his corporate financing and proposed that "contributions by corporations to any political committee or for any political purpose should be forbidden by law." This resulted in the Tillman Act of 1907, which prohibited corporations and nationally chartered banks from making direct monetary contributions to federal candidates.

In 1974, the state of California enacted the Political Reform Act to provide greater transparency regarding political campaign funding. This law placed mandatory spending limits on candidates running for state office and ballot measure committees, and restricted lobbyists from donating to political campaigns.

Today, there are different types of PACs, including separate segregated funds (SSFs), nonconnected committees, and Super PACs. SSFs are political committees established and administered by corporations, labour unions, membership organizations, or trade associations. They can only solicit contributions from individuals associated with a connected or sponsoring organization. In contrast, nonconnected committees are not sponsored by or connected to any entities and can solicit contributions from the general public. Super PACs can receive unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labour unions, and other PACs to finance independent expenditures and other independent political activity.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) advocates for reform of the current system, including public financing of campaigns, comprehensive disclosure rules, reasonable limits on campaign contributions, and stricter enforcement of bans on coordination between candidates and super PACs. They believe that the resources for political advocacy should be expanded rather than limited to create a level playing field for qualified candidates.

Explore related products

Citizens Divided: Campaign Finance Reform and the Constitution (The Tanner Lectures on Human Values)

$19.84 $32

The Political Campaign Desk Reference: A Guide for Campaign Managers, Professionals and Candidates Running for Office

$16.46 $19.95

The New Campaign Finance Sourcebook

$31.83

The Political Campaign Desk Reference: A Guide for Campaign Managers, Operatives, and Candidates Running for Political Office

$18.95

PACs, Activism, & Campaign Finance Law: How You Can Quickly & Easily Build Your Own Political Action Committee using PACs, Super PACs, and FARA (The ... and the Science of Electioneering)

$19 $7.95

Unfree Speech: The Folly of Campaign Finance Reform

$52.25 $55

Fundraising and donation rules

Federal law in the US places limits on campaign contributions to candidates for president and Congress. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) enforces the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA), which limits the amount of money individuals and political organisations can give to a candidate running for federal office.

The FEC's regulations state that outside groups only have to report their donors if contributions are earmarked for specific advertisements. This means that outside spending groups can avoid reporting their donors. The FEC also sets rules on what activities are considered independent or "coordinated" with a campaign.

There are different types of Political Action Committees (PACs), including separate segregated funds (SSFs), nonconnected committees, Super PACs, and Hybrid PACs. Each type has different rules regarding the sources and amounts of contributions they can accept. For example, SSFs can only solicit contributions from individuals associated with a connected or sponsoring organisation, while nonconnected committees can accept contributions from the general public. Super PACs and Hybrid PACs can accept unlimited contributions from a wide range of sources, including individuals, corporations, and other PACs.

Candidates can spend their own personal funds on their campaigns without limits, but they must report the amount they spend to the FEC. In-kind contributions, such as goods or services, are also subject to rules regarding the timing of reporting and contribution limits. It is important to note that campaigns are prohibited from retaining contributions that exceed the limits, and they must follow special procedures for handling excessive contributions. Additionally, certain entities, such as federal government contractors and foreign nationals, are prohibited from making contributions in connection with federal, state, or local elections.

Disclosure requirements

Political campaigns and political action committees (PACs) are subject to government-mandated disclosure requirements. These requirements allow interested parties, such as the media and the public, to examine records that would otherwise be hidden from them. This results in closer scrutiny of facts and figures and of the relationships between political actors.

In the US, the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) and its subsequent amendments in 1974 following the Watergate scandal mandate that individuals and groups expressly advocating for the election or defeat of candidates for federal office must disclose the sources of funding for their campaigns. This includes disclosing contributions and expenditures with the Federal Election Commission.

PACs, which are political committees organized to raise and spend money to elect and defeat candidates, have specific disclosure requirements. For example, separate segregated funds (SSFs) are PACs established by corporations, labor unions, membership organizations, or trade associations. They can only solicit contributions from individuals associated with the connected or sponsoring organization. On the other hand, nonconnected committees are not affiliated with any specific entity and can solicit contributions from the general public.

Additionally, there are disclosure requirements for hybrid PACs, which maintain two separate bank accounts. One account accepts unlimited contributions from various entities to finance independent expenditures, while the other account is subject to statutory amount limitations and source prohibitions, making contributions to federal candidates. Leadership PACs, established by political leaders to support candidates for federal and non-federal offices, are also subject to disclosure requirements, with limits on contributions to federal candidate committees.

While some argue that disclosure requirements impinge on First Amendment freedoms of speech and association, courts have upheld these requirements, stating that they serve to deter corruption, provide transparency, and aid in enforcing campaign finance laws.

Frequently asked questions