Jonah Patel
Political campaigns are funded by a variety of sources, including individuals, corporations, unions, and other organizations. In the United States, information about political donations is often publicly available, although the specifics can vary by state. At the federal level, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) maintains a database of individuals who have contributed to federally registered political committees. Additionally, several online tools and websites, such as OpenSecrets, FollowTheMoney.org, and Goods Unite Us, provide accessible ways to search and analyze political contribution data. These sources allow individuals to identify who funds political campaigns and to understand the influence of money in politics.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Websites | OpenSecrets, FollowTheMoney.org, Federal Election Commission, Goods Unite Us, MarketWatch, Zippia |
| Search Parameters | Individual contributors by name, employer, occupation, city, state, zip code, date, amount, receiving committee |
| Donation Amounts | $200 or more must be disclosed by campaigns and political action committees, including names, addresses, and employers |
| Donation Amounts | $50 or less do not need to collect any identifiable information about the donor |
| Donation Amounts | State candidates may not need to disclose donor identities for small-dollar contributions under $50-$100 |
| Data Sources | Grants from private foundations, individual contributions, revenue from research fees and data contracts |
| Data Types | Campaign contributions, lobbying activity, outside spending by party committees, super PACs, and "dark money" groups |
| Data Types | State and federal datasets on political contributions, expenditures, personal financial disclosures, candidate lists, and lobbying activities |
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What You'll Learn
- Using websites like OpenSecrets, FollowTheMoney.org, and the Federal Election Commission (FEC)
- Search by donor name, occupation, employer, or zip code
- Understand the influence of entire industries and economic sectors
- Learn about dark money groups and their outside influence
- Track money flowing in and out of Political Action Committees (PACs)
Using websites like OpenSecrets, FollowTheMoney.org, and the Federal Election Commission (FEC)
OpenSecrets is a non-profit, non-partisan website that offers access to state and federal datasets on political contributions, expenditures, personal financial disclosures, candidate lists, and lobbying activities. It has data on campaign contributions and lobbying activities from corporations, trade associations, labor unions, nonprofits, and other advocacy groups. The website also provides insights on how money is spent and its influence on politics. Nearly all the data on OpenSecrets comes from official government sources, including the Federal Election Commission, Senate Office of Public Records, and state agencies.
On OpenSecrets, you can search for a specific state or federal candidate to view their donors and supporting industries. You can also explore data on appointees, administrators, and state legislators, as well as search for donors to governors and state leaders. Additionally, OpenSecrets allows you to track the money flowing into political action committees (PACs) and "dark money" groups, as well as national party committees' finances.
FollowTheMoney.org is another website that provides state campaign finance data, which is integrated with OpenSecrets. It was formed through a collaboration between the National Institute on Money in Politics and the Center for Responsive Politics.
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) website provides information on presidential data, such as money raised, spent, cash on hand, and debt. It also offers help for individuals and groups active in federal elections, with resources like relevant statutes, regulations, Commission actions, and court cases. The FEC is one of the official sources of data for websites like OpenSecrets.
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Search by donor name, occupation, employer, or zip code
There are several websites that allow you to search for information on political donors. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) maintains a database of individuals who have contributed to federally registered political committees. On the FEC website, you can search for donors by their first and/or last name, employer, occupation, city, state and/or zip code, date and amount of the contribution, and the committee receiving the contribution. You can also use filters to narrow your search, for example, all contributions to a particular committee on a specific date.
Another website, OpenSecrets, offers access to state and federal datasets on political contributions, expenditures, personal financial disclosures, candidate lists, and lobbying activities. The site, a combination of the National Institute on Money in Politics and the Center for Responsive Politics, displays state campaign finance data that is current through the 2024 election year. You can also find federal data on OpenSecrets, including information on political action committees (PACs), outside spending by super PACs and "dark money" groups, and statistics on donations and spending by presidential candidates.
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Understand the influence of entire industries and economic sectors
Political campaigns are funded by a variety of sources, including individuals, corporations, trade associations, labour unions, and advocacy groups. To understand the influence of entire industries and economic sectors, it is important to examine the flow of money into political action committees (PACs) and the lobbying activities of various organisations.
OpenSecrets is a valuable resource that offers insights into the financial aspects of US politics. The website provides industry profiles that shed light on the influence of different sectors. By utilising OpenSecrets, individuals can track the money flowing into PACs, analyse lobbying activities, and identify the industries that support specific candidates. This information is crucial for understanding the interests and motivations of various economic sectors.
Additionally, OpenSecrets allows users to search by client, firm, industry, or issue to uncover the entities shaping policies. This feature enables a deeper understanding of the industries' influence on specific topics and their impact on decision-making processes. OpenSecrets also provides data on campaign expenditures, helping users explore how candidates and political groups allocate donor funds. This transparency is essential for holding political actors accountable and ensuring that policies are not unduly influenced by certain sectors.
Beyond OpenSecrets, individuals can refer to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) database to research individual contributions to federally registered political committees. The FEC database enables searches by contributor name, employer, location, contribution date, and amount. This level of detail empowers users to identify patterns and connections between industries, donors, and political entities.
By leveraging these tools and databases, individuals can gain a comprehensive understanding of the influence exerted by entire industries and economic sectors on political campaigns. This knowledge is crucial for promoting transparency, accountability, and informed decision-making in the democratic process.
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Learn about dark money groups and their outside influence
In politics, particularly in the United States, "dark money" refers to funds used to influence elections, public policy, and political discourse without disclosing the source of the money to the public. Dark money groups spend millions of dollars on elections without revealing where their money comes from. They frequently operate as "attack dogs" during campaigns, criticizing candidates from the shadows.
The most common type of dark money group is the 501(c)(4), often called a social welfare organization. These organizations can receive unlimited donations from corporations, individuals, and unions. Dark money groups often pose as trade associations or social welfare nonprofits to avoid mandatory donor disclosure rules that would come with registering as a political committee. By not disclosing their donors, dark money groups prevent voters from knowing who is trying to influence them, making it harder for them to make informed decisions.
The 2014 election cycle saw the largest amount of dark money ever spent in a congressional election. Republican-leaning dark money groups dominated, with $94.6 million in expenditures, exceeding those of Democratic-leaning groups ($28.4 million) and unclassified expenditures ($1.9 million). The three dark money groups that spent the largest sums in the 2012 election cycle were Karl Rove's American Crossroads/Crossroads GPS ($71 million), the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity ($36 million), and the US Chamber of Commerce ($35 million).
The Brennan Center for Justice has published extensive research on the effects of dark money in politics, including its impact on state and local elections, risks to judicial independence, and the threat of foreign funds in US elections. They have proposed reforms to the Federal Elections Committee to improve campaign spending transparency and help enforce the law. Similarly, OpenSecrets, a non-partisan organization, offers access to state and federal datasets on political contributions, expenditures, and lobbying activities.
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Track money flowing in and out of Political Action Committees (PACs)
Tracking the money flowing in and out of Political Action Committees (PACs) is crucial for understanding the influence of special interest groups on politics and policy-making. OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan and independent research organization, is a valuable resource for this purpose.
OpenSecrets compiles data on campaign contributions and lobbying activities from thousands of corporations, trade associations, labor unions, nonprofits, and other advocacy groups. They provide comprehensive profiles of organizations and industries, shedding light on their political spending and lobbying efforts. Notably, OpenSecrets also uncovers the influence of "dark money" groups, which spend lavishly on elections without disclosing their funding sources.
To track PACs' finances, OpenSecrets offers a donor lookup tool that provides access to Federal Election Commission records of receipts from individuals contributing at least $200. This database allows users to explore disclosures and contributions for politicians at all government levels. Additionally, OpenSecrets provides insights into how industries and special interest groups shape policies through lobbying and political donations.
Another resource for tracking money in PACs is the Federal Election Commission (FEC) website. It offers a computer search capability to find PACs by name or treasurer's name. The FEC website also provides summary financial figures for PACs, including total receipts, disbursements, contributions to federal committees, cash on hand, and debts. Furthermore, it discloses itemized lists of individual contributions, independent expenditures for or against candidates, and enforcement actions related to the PACs.
It's worth noting that PACs have different structures, such as separate segregated funds (SSFs), nonconnected committees, and Super PACs. SSFs are established by corporations, labor unions, or trade associations and can only receive contributions from associated individuals. In contrast, nonconnected committees are independent and can solicit funds from the general public. Super PACs, on the other hand, can receive unlimited contributions from various entities to finance independent expenditures and political activities.
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Frequently asked questions
There are several resources available that offer insights into who funds political campaigns. These include:
- OpenSecrets: A non-profit and non-partisan research group that tracks money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy.
- Federal Election Commission (FEC): The FEC website has a tool to search for individual contributions by donor name, recipient, amount, and date.
- FollowTheMoney.org: Allows users to browse and search state campaign finance data.
- Goods Unite Us: A free mobile app that allows users to search for a company and learn about the political parties and candidates that senior employees have donated to.
No, there are other ways to search for donor information besides their name. For example, on OpenSecrets, you can use the advanced search option to sort by recipient or donor data like occupation, employer, or zip code. Similarly, on the FEC website, you can search for contributions by the employer, city, state, or zip code of the contributor.
No, reporting requirements vary based on the amount of the contribution and the applicable laws. For example, campaigns are not required to collect any identifiable information about donors for contributions of $50 or less. Additionally, federal law requires the disclosure of personal details for individuals who donate $200 or more, and smaller contributions are not part of the public record.
