Eleanor Finch
Political donations are a matter of public record. If you want to know who has donated to a political campaign, you can search for this information in several ways. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) maintains a database of individuals who have made contributions to federally registered political committees. You can search for donors by name, employer, occupation, city, state, zip code, date of contribution, or amount of contribution. The FEC also requires campaigns to track all contributions, although the amount of information collected varies by donation amount. For donations of $50 or less, campaigns do not need to collect any identifiable information about the donor. You can also use websites such as FollowTheMoney.org or OpenSecrets to search for state campaign finance data and trace donations to politicians and political committees at the federal and state levels. These websites can help you uncover how industries and special interest groups influence policies through lobbying and political donations.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Political donations are public record | True |
| Sources of information | Federal Election Commission (FEC), FollowTheMoney.org, OpenSecrets, New Hampshire Secretary of State's Campaign Finance System page |
| Information available | Donor name, candidate name, state, employer, date of donation, donation amount, donor occupation, donor city, donor zip code, committee receiving contribution, etc. |
| Donation data limitations | Data on donations under $50 may not be available; OpenSecrets data for 2024 is limited to between June 30 and August 31, 2024 |
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What You'll Learn
Campaign donations are public record
Campaign donations are a matter of public record in the United States. This means that information on who donated to which political campaign and how much they donated is, in theory, accessible to the public.
The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 requires all Senate, House, and presidential candidates, as well as any committees authorized to raise money for them, to report campaign donations to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The FEC maintains a database of individuals who have made contributions to federally registered political committees. This database is searchable by the public and includes information such as the contributor's name, employer, occupation, city, state, zip code, date of contribution, and amount contributed.
However, it is important to note that the amount of information collected and reported varies depending on the donation amount. For contributions of $50 or less, campaigns are not required to collect any identifiable information about the donor. Additionally, reporting requirements may differ for state candidates based on state laws. For example, campaigns may not need to disclose donor identities for small-dollar contributions of less than $50 to $100.
To make the process of searching through FEC reports more manageable, individuals can utilize non-profit, non-partisan organizations such as OpenSecrets (formerly known as the Center for Responsive Politics) or FollowTheMoney.org. These organizations compile data on campaign contributions and allow users to search for donations by state, office type, recipient, contributor, and other filters.
While campaign donations are generally considered public information, there may be variations in the threshold for public disclosure depending on the state and the candidate. For example, in Tennessee, donations of $101 and above are considered public information, while in Flagstaff, AZ, donations of less than $200 have been disclosed as public information.
It is worth noting that the ease of accessing this information may vary, and in some cases, hard copies of campaign reports may need to be requested. Additionally, judicial committees are required to file electronically with the Secretary of State once they reach a certain threshold of contributions and expenditures.
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Search donor databases
Political donations are a matter of public record, and there are several databases that allow you to search for information about donors and candidates. These databases can be useful tools for understanding a candidate's voter and supporter base, and for making more informed decisions about which candidate might align most closely with your beliefs.
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) maintains a database of individuals who have made contributions to federally-registered political committees. The FEC's searchable donor database allows you to browse donors by recipient or contributor and narrow your results by zip code, donor occupation, employer, contribution amount, and more. The FEC website has a search bar titled "Individual contributions" under the "Campaign Finance Data" tab, where you can search for a candidate's list of donors.
In addition to the FEC database, there are several other websites that provide access to state and federal datasets on political contributions. These include:
- OpenSecrets: A non-profit, non-partisan organization that has been operating since 1983. OpenSecrets offers access to state and federal datasets on political contributions, expenditures, personal financial disclosures, candidate lists, and lobbying activities. It provides information on donations to politicians and political committees at the federal and state levels, as well as data on outside spending by party committees, super PACs, and "dark money" groups.
- FollowTheMoney.org: This website allows you to browse and search state campaign finance data, including donation details for specific races and individual contributions.
- New Hampshire Secretary of State's Campaign Finance System: This platform allows you to search for financial information for candidates for governor, Executive Council, state Senate and House, as well as county offices. It offers two search bars: one for "Candidate and Candidate Committees" and another for "Non-Candidate Committees and Political Advocacy Organizations Profiles."
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Search by state
In the United States, donations made to political campaigns are typically a matter of public record. All Senate, House, and presidential candidates, as well as any committees authorised to raise funds for them, are required to report campaign donations to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The FEC maintains a searchable database of individuals and organisations that have donated to federally registered political committees.
The FEC database allows you to search for donors by recipient, contributor, zip code, donor occupation, employer, contribution amount, and more. You can also narrow your search by using filters, such as searching for all contributions to a particular committee on a specific date or all contributions to a candidate's committee from contributors with the same employer. However, it's important to note that the FEC only collects data on federal campaigns and candidates.
For information on state and local campaigns, you can use the website FollowTheMoney.org, which is run by the National Institute on Money in Politics. This website provides access to state campaign finance data through the 2024 election year. You can select a state from the map or use the drop-down menus to choose your state and election cycle. From there, you can further narrow your search by selecting the office type to get more specific information on donation details for individual races.
Another useful resource is OpenSecrets, a non-profit and non-partisan organisation that tracks money in US elections and politics. OpenSecrets offers access to state and federal datasets on political contributions, expenditures, and lobbying activities. On their website, you can search for a state or federal candidate to view the donors and industries that support them. Additionally, OpenSecrets provides tools like "Get Local!", which allows you to select a state and then browse reports by donor, candidate, metro area, and more. It's worth noting that OpenSecrets has now merged with the National Institute on Money in Politics, so all available data will eventually be housed on the OpenSecrets website.
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Search by donor type
If you want to search for a specific type of donor, there are several ways to do so. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has a searchable donor database that allows you to search by recipient or contributor and narrow your results by zip code, donor occupation, employer, contribution amount, and more. You can also search for a specific donor using their name, city, state, or zip code.
OpenSecrets, a non-profit research group, also provides a donor database. Their website allows you to search for donors by state or federal candidate, as well as explore influential organizations and industries that donate to political campaigns. You can also search for specific donors by name, city, or zip code.
In addition, you can use the National Institute on Money in Politics' tool, FollowTheMoney.org, to track donations to state and local campaigns. This tool allows you to browse and search state campaign finance data, select the office type, and narrow down donation details for specific races.
Another option is to use the New Hampshire Secretary of State's Campaign Finance System page, which allows you to search for financial information about candidates for governor, Executive Council, state Senate, and House, as well as county offices. This page offers two search bars: one for "Candidate and Candidate Committees" and another for "Non-Candidate Committees and Political Advocacy Organizations."
By using these tools and searching by donor type, you can gain valuable insights into the financial aspects of political campaigns and the individuals or organizations supporting them.
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Understand dark money
Political donations are a matter of public record in the US. All Senate, House, and presidential candidates, as well as any committees authorized to raise money for them, are required to report campaign donations to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The FEC maintains a database of individuals who have made contributions to federally registered political committees, which can be searched by name, employer, occupation, location, date, and contribution amount.
However, "dark money" refers to secret spending in elections by wealthy special interests. Dark money groups are outside spending groups that spend millions of dollars on elections without revealing the source of their funding. This is distinct from traditional Political Action Committees (PACs) or candidate committees, which must disclose donors and are allowed to coordinate their spending with political candidates. Dark money groups are not allowed to coordinate their spending with candidates or parties, and they are only required to report their spending if they mention a candidate during a brief period before Election Day or spend money on express advocacy that explicitly supports a candidate.
The US Supreme Court's Citizens United decision has been cited as a factor in the rise of dark money, as it gave corporations, including certain types of nonprofits, the ability to spend money on political ads that call for the election or defeat of federal candidates.
Critics of dark money argue that voters have a right to know who is funding political advertisements, as this information is essential for evaluating political messages and ensuring that special interests are not currying favor with politicians. Proponents of anonymity in politics, on the other hand, may point to examples of anonymously published works from the country's founding, such as The Federalist Papers and Thomas Paine's Common Sense.
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Frequently asked questions
The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) has a searchable donor database that allows you to browse donors by recipient or contributor and narrow your search by zip code, donor occupation, employer, contribution amount, and more. You can also use FollowTheMoney.org to browse and search state campaign finance data. Another option is to use OpenSecrets, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that has been tracking money in U.S. politics since 1983.
You can search for a donor by their first and/or last name, employer, occupation, city, state, zip code, or the date and amount of the contribution.
All state and county political candidates and committees are required to register with the Secretary of State's office. You can search for candidates for governor, Executive Council, state Senate and House, as well as candidates for county offices, on the New Hampshire Secretary of State's Campaign Finance System page.
