Campaign finance basics

Running for office costs money. Following that money is one of the best ways to understand who a candidate actually answers to. Here's where it comes from:

Individual donors

Regular people giving money to a campaign. Federal limits: $3,500 per election for US House and Senate (as of 2026, indexed every 2 years). PA state races have different limits — PA has no individual-donor limits for state office, which makes large individual gifts common.

Political Action Committees (PACs)

A group of people pooling money to donate to candidates. Labor unions, trade groups, and issue advocacy orgs run PACs. Federal limit: $5,000 per election from a PAC to a candidate. PA state: unlimited.

Super PACs

A separate category created by the 2010 Citizens United ruling. Super PACs can raise and spend UNLIMITED amounts to support or oppose candidates, as long as they don't coordinate directly with the candidate's campaign. In practice, the line is fuzzy. Super PAC spending dwarfs candidate spending in most high-profile races.

Dark money

Political spending by nonprofits (501(c)(4) organizations) that are not required to disclose their donors. Often bundles money from donors who want anonymity. Dark money has grown significantly in the last decade.

Self-funded candidates

A candidate using their own money. There are no limits on how much a candidate can give their own campaign.

How to check a candidate's fundraising

Federal: opensecrets.org, FEC.gov. Pennsylvania: pa.gov/agencies/dos/programs/voting-and-elections/campaign-finance. Every candidate filing must be publicly disclosed by the appropriate deadline. We surface the key numbers directly on each candidate's profile page where available.