Original analysis · sourced from official records
Original data research from the PlainInfluence, compiled directly from FEC, Senate LDA, and USAspending records; no number is typed in by an editor.
Research at a glance
PlainInfluence connects FEC, Senate LDA, and USAspending records for 21,666 tracked organizations, letting readers compare campaign receipts, lobbying disclosures, and contract activity without treating their combined total as a causal measure of influence.
Figures are reproduced from public filings and source records; the underlying populations and limits are stated on each report.
Each report below answers a specific question about the distribution of federal political money, which organizations carry the largest combined activity totals, which politicians raised the most, and which states attracted the most federal contract activity. All figures are compiled directly from the current FEC, Senate LDA, and USAspending records; nothing is typed in by hand. Combined activity is a convenience sum across those populations, not causal political influence.
Sum of FEC PAC contributions, Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act spending, and federal contract awards for the 21,666+ organizations tracked by PlainInfluence. Figures are as recorded in source filings, not adjusted for inflation or program category.
FEC-filed campaign committee receipts for federal politicians (House, Senate, Presidential) in the displayed election cycle.
State-level rollup of FEC-recorded contributions to candidate committees, LDA-recorded lobbying spending, and federal contract awards.
Which federal policy domains command the most lobbying expenditure? Ranks LDA issue areas by total reported Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act spending, revealing how concentrated the influence economy is around budget, health, and defense priorities.
Which U.S. states attract the largest federal contract obligations? Ranks states by total USAspending.gov contract awards, revealing the geographic concentration of defense procurement, agency infrastructure spending, and research contracts.
Download the federal political-money statistics cited on this page: federal-political-money-statistics.csv (CC0).