State influence profile · CA
California political money
588 federal politicians, $53.3M in PAC contributions received, and $933.1M in lobbying by in-state organizations, from FEC, Senate LDA, and USAspending.gov filings through August 2026.
- 588
- Politicians
- $53.3M
- Contributions
- $933.1M
- Lobbying
- $8.9B
- Contracts
The state picture
California ranks #5 of 56 tracked states and territories by combined federal money flow ($9.9B), with $53.3M in PAC receipts across 588 politicians.
- #5
- of 56 by combined flow
- $53.3M
- PAC contributions received
- $933.1M
- lobbying by in-state filers
- $8.9B
- federal contracts awarded
Federal money-flow plate
Sheet CA · California $9.9B
CONTRACT-LED · TOP-DECILE · CLEAR-GAP · MEGA-BENCH · BOOK-MID · STATE-DESK
- CONTRACT-LED 90% contracts
- TOP-DECILE #5/56
- CLEAR-GAP ±35% peer
- MEGA-BENCH 588 politicians
- BOOK-MID $9.9B book
- STATE-DESK State filing desk
Nearest combined-flow peer: Texas (+$3.4B)
Instrument codes from this state’s FEC PAC receipts, Senate LDA lobbying, and USAspending contracts, channel lead, peer rank, photo-finish gap, politician bench, book size, and filing desk, not a causal influence score.
Combined-flow neighbourhood around California
Lowest and highest poles plus nearest combined-flow peers among tracked states and territories, not a full-board reprint.
California's three federal money flows
Campaign contributions received, lobbying spent by in-state organizations, and federal contracts awarded, side by side.
How Political Money Moves Through California
California (CA) shows $53.3M in PAC contributions across 588 tracked politicians, $933.1M in lobbying by in-state filers, and $8.9B in federal contracts - combined-flow rank #5 of 56. Top PAC recipient: Pete Aguilar. Top filing-address organization: GENERAL ATOMICS AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS. Filing-address state is not corporate headquarters; combined activity is a discovery sum, not causation.
How to read channels, attribution, and sources
Contributions = FEC PAC receipts to candidates; lobbying = Senate LDA registrant spend; contracts = USAspending awards. Each channel is a separate official population.
Lobbying is attributed by registrant place of business; contracts by place of performance. See the methodology for attribution limits and source documents (FEC Form 3/3X/5, LD-2, FEDERALAWARDS).
Politicians from California
Top organizations in California
| # | Organization | Combined activity |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GENERAL ATOMICS AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMScorporation | $1.5B |
| 2 | THE AEROSPACE CORPORATIONcorporation | $1.3B |
| 3 | PARSONS CORPORATIONpac | $1.1B |
| 4 | GENERAL MATTER INCcorporation | $900.3M |
| 5 | TETRA TECH, INC.corporation | $447.0M |
| 6 | AEVEX AEROSPACE, LLCcorporation | $380.6M |
| 7 | CHEVRON CORPORATIONpac | $361.0M |
| 8 | VIASAT, INC.pac | $352.9M |
| 9 | TELEDYNE TECHNOLOGIEScorporation | $323.7M |
| 10 | AECOM TECHNICAL SERVICES, INC.corporation | $316.6M |
| 11 | BLUE TECH INC.corporation | $242.3M |
| 12 | CASTELIONcorporation | $211.2M |
| 13 | AVANTUS LLCpac | $200.9M |
| 14 | PACIFIC COAST PRODUCERSpac | $131.5M |
| 15 | AMGEN USA, INC.corporation | $128.1M |
| 16 | SUFFOLK CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC.pac | $90.3M |
| 17 | CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGYcorporation | $86.2M |
| 18 | BROADCOM INCpac | $85.2M |
| 19 | CALIFORNIA DAIRIES, INC.pac | $73.2M |
| 20 | SRI INTERNATIONALcorporation | $67.2M |
Frequently Asked Questions
How much political money flows through California?
California politicians received $53.3M in PAC contributions during the 2024 election cycle, while organizations with a disclosed FEC/LDA filing address in the state spent $933.1M on federal lobbying and received $8.9B in federal contracts. Filing-address state is not corporate headquarters. Data comes from FEC filings, Senate LDA disclosures, and USAspending.gov.
How many politicians represent California at the federal level?
588 politicians from California are tracked in FEC filings for the 2024 cycle. This includes candidates for Senate and House seats. The top fundraiser is Pete Aguilar. All data covers PAC and organizational contributions, not individual donations.
Which organizations show the most recorded federal activity in California?
GENERAL ATOMICS AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS is among the top organizations with a disclosed filing address in California by combined activity. Combined activity is a convenience sum of campaign contributions, lobbying expenditures, and federal contract awards (three separate populations), not causal political influence. See the organization rankings above.
What is the difference between contributions, lobbying, and contracts?
Campaign contributions are donations from PACs to political candidates (tracked by the FEC). Lobbying is spending disclosed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (Senate LDA filings). Federal contracts are government procurement awards to private companies (tracked by USAspending.gov). Combined activity adds those three separate populations for discovery only; it is not causation or a single strategy score.
Where does California political money data come from?
All data is sourced from official federal government databases: the Federal Election Commission (campaign contributions), the Senate Office of Public Records (lobbying disclosures), and USAspending.gov (federal contracts). PlainInfluence aggregates and presents this public data for transparency. Data covers the 2023-2024 reporting period.
Context: Campaign Finance 101 · All states · Influence rankings
Data: FEC, Senate LDA, USAspending.gov. 2023-2024 data. Verify filings at fec.gov/data.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Every figure on PlainInfluence is rendered directly from official FEC, Senate LDA and USAspending records, no number is typed in by an editor. State-level 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.