Politicians supported
40
distinct FEC recipients
pac · DC
Nelnet, INC.
Active on two fronts: $114K in campaign contributions and $1.6M in lobbying, no federal contracts on record. Data through August 2026.
- $1.7M
- Combined activity
- $114K
- Contributions
- $1.6M
- Lobbying
The verdict
Nelnet, INC. ranks in the top 15% of 21,666 organizations with tracked federal activity, split between campaign contributions and lobbying, with no federal contracts on record.
- Top 15%
- of 21,666 tracked organizations
- $114K
- campaign contributions
- $1.6M
- lobbying expenditures
Where Nelnet, INC.'s total federal influence footprint sits
21,666 organizations with tracked federal activity
$1,674,400 3272nd of 21666 higher than 18,394 of 21,666 organizations
the full population, bucketed by value
Each bar is a $50K-wide band; taller bars hold more organizations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FEC contributions, LDA lobbying disclosures, and USASpending federal contracts · August 2026
Lobbying years filed
2
LDA disclosure years
LDA issue areas
3
distinct policy categories
How Nelnet, INC.'s recorded federal activity breaks down
The three tracked channels for Nelnet, INC., side by side. Its largest channel is lobbying expenditures at $1.6M.
Nelnet, INC.'s influence activity score
Each tracked channel is percentile-scored against its own national benchmark, then averaged across only the channels that apply to a pac -- not one dollar sum where contract size can drown out everything else.
Overall activity score
F
39/100
Campaign contributions
F
44/100 · $114K
Lobbying expenditures
A
100/100 · $1.6M
Federal contracts
F
2/100 · $0
Independent expenditures
F
10/100 · $0
What Nelnet, INC.'s recorded federal activity shows
Nelnet, INC., with a disclosed filing address in DC, pairs campaign giving with lobbying but holds no federal contracts: $114K in PAC contributions alongside $1.6M in disclosed lobbying expenditures.
On the campaign side, Nelnet, INC.'s PAC contributions reached 40 federal politicians, led by Garland Andy Barr at $10K. Its lobbying profile spans 2 reporting years across 3 distinct LDA issue areas, with emphasis on Education, Banking, Financial Institutions/Investments/Securities.
Politicians supported
| Politician | Party | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Garland Andy Barr | R | $10K |
| Donald J Bacon | R | $10K |
| Mike Flood | R | $9K |
| Pete Ricketts | R | $8K |
| Tom Cole | R | $6K |
| Robert C Scott | D | $5K |
| Debra S. Fischer | R | $5K |
| Steven Alexzander Horsford | D | $5K |
| Ann L. Wagner | R | $4K |
| Brittany Louise Pettersen | D | $4K |
| Vicente Gonzalez | D | $3K |
| Virginia Ann Foxx | R | $3K |
| Patrick Timothy Mchenry | R | $3K |
| Burgess Owens | R | $3K |
| Bryan George Steil | R | $3K |
| Warren Davidson | R | $3K |
| Adrian Smith | R | $3K |
| Steve Mr Scalise | R | $3K |
| Susie Lee | D | $3K |
| Dusty Johnson | R | $3K |
| Stephen A The Hon Womack | R | $3K |
| John Curtis | R | $3K |
| Kyrsten Sinema | I | $2K |
| Rosa L Delauro | D | $2K |
| William P Huizenga | R | $2K |
| Josh Gottheimer | D | $1K |
| Sean Casten | D | $1K |
| Scott Fitzgerald | R | $1K |
| Sherrod Brown | D | $1K |
| Celeste Maloy | R | $1K |
| Timothy Michael Kaine | D | $1K |
| Zach Nunn | R | $1K |
| W Blaine Luetkemeyer | R | $1K |
| Brad Wilson | R | $1K |
| Martin Heinrich | D | $1K |
| James French Hill | R | $1K |
| Julia Letlow | R | $1K |
| Joyce Beatty | D | $1K |
| Chuck Edwards | R | $1K |
| Mike Kennedy | R | $1K |
Lobbying by year
| Year | Amount |
|---|---|
| 2024 | $910K |
| 2023 | $650K |
Lobbying issues
Nationwide peers with similar federal activity
Cross-state nearest neighbors on two independent axes, combined tracked activity and Senate LDA lobbying spend, so the lattice is not filing-state containment.
Similar combined federal activity
Other organizations with nearest total contributions + lobbying + contracts ($1.7M here), outside DC filing-state peers.
Similar lobbying expenditures
Nearest LDA lobbying totals ($1.6M here) on a separate axis from combined activity.
Frequently asked questions
How much recorded federal activity does Nelnet, INC. have?
Nelnet, INC. has a combined recorded federal activity total of $1.7M, made up of $114K in campaign contributions and $1.6M in lobbying expenditures. This is a convenience sum across three separate official populations, not a measure of causal political influence. Data from FEC filings, Senate LDA disclosures, and USAspending.gov for 2023-2024.
Which politicians does Nelnet, INC. support?
Nelnet, INC. contributed $114K to political campaigns during the 2024 election cycle through its PAC. Nelnet, INC. supported 40 politicians, with the largest contribution going to Garland Andy Barr ($10K). All contribution data is sourced from Federal Election Commission filings.
What issues does Nelnet, INC. lobby on?
Nelnet, INC. spent $1.6M on federal lobbying. Key issue areas include Education, Banking, Financial Institutions/Investments/Securities. Lobbying disclosures are filed under the Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) and are public record.
Where does the data about Nelnet, INC. come from?
PlainInfluence aggregates data from three federal sources: the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for campaign contributions, the Senate Office of Public Records for lobbying disclosures under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, and USAspending.gov for federal contract awards. Data covers the 2023-2024 reporting period.
What is "combined activity" and how is it calculated?
Combined activity (internally total_influence) is a convenience sum of three different official populations: FEC campaign contributions (2024 election cycle), Senate LDA lobbying expenditures (2023 and 2024 filing years, summed), and USAspending federal contract obligations (fiscal year 2024). It is a cross-dataset discovery index only, not causation, effectiveness, or political influence. Channel dollars are shown side by side; see /methodology#cross-stage-populations.
Related guides
What to do with this organization
- Compare Nelnet, INC.'s footprint against similar organizations nationwide. Activity rankings
- Search for a specific politician this organization has supported. Browse politicians
- See how this organization's home state compares in aggregate influence activity. State profiles
Every figure traces to a real FEC, LDA, or USASpending filing; contribution and lobbying totals are not the same as spending on any specific outcome.
According to the Federal Election Commission and the Senate Office of Public Records, more than 14,000 political action committees and over 12,500 lobbying registrants filed disclosure reports covering the 2024 election cycle and calendar-year 2024 lobbying period respectively. Every figure on this page comes from official FEC, Senate LDA, or USAspending.gov filings, described on our methodology page. Data was last updated in August 2026.
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainInfluence.
Every figure on PlainInfluence is rendered directly from official FEC, Senate LDA and USAspending records, no number is typed in by an editor. Contribution, lobbying, and contract totals are aggregated directly from FEC, Senate LDA, and USAspending bulk data, no figure is hand-entered. Disclosed contributions, lobbying, and contracts are lawful, regulated activities, appearing on this page is not an allegation of wrongdoing. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our disclaimer, or report a data error. Data current as of 2023-2024.