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Following the money in the final stretch of the midterms
By Holly Butcher Grant, NPCJI Community Manager
Dark money, super PACs, donation thresholds, contribution limits: campaign finance can look like a wall of jargon standing between reporters and a good election story. Earlier this year, the Institute hosted Brendan Glavin, director of insights at OpenSecrets, to break down the terminology and rules behind lobbying and campaign donations.
With the midterms just weeks away, his guidance is worth revisiting as you track where the money is flowing in local and federal races.
Start with the limits, because they may vary more than reporters might expect. In federal races, an individual can give a candidate $3,500 per election, or $7,000 per cycle across the primary and general (FEC). State limits are a different story. Some states cap contributions tightly, while others set no limits at all. Disclosure thresholds work the same way and determine what data you can actually see.
Federally, donors who give more than $200 in aggregate must be reported with their name, address, occupation and employer. At the state level, the most common threshold is around $100, though some states have none. Donations below the threshold are often reported as a single lump sum of “unitemized” contributions, so a gap in the data doesn’t necessarily signal wrongdoing. It may simply mean a donor or candidate hasn’t crossed a reporting threshold.
It also pays to know the players beyond individual donors.
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Candidates and campaigns raise and spend for their own races within limits, and political parties file their own reports detailing donors and expenses.
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Traditional PACs can give directly to candidates but face contribution limits.
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Super PACs can’t give to candidates or coordinate with them, but they can raise unlimited sums, which makes them a favorite vehicle for very wealthy donors.
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Dark money groups, often 501(c)(4) nonprofits or LLCs, can spend on elections without disclosing donors. This is increasingly becoming a local issue where voters may see highly influential ads without knowing who paid for them.
- Corporations and unions are barred from contributing directly to federal candidates, though they can give to super PACs, and, once again, state laws will differ. “Be aware of the jurisdiction that you’re writing about,” Glavin said.
For your own reporting, Glavin pointed to OpenSecrets and its federal lobbying data, FollowTheMoney.org for state-level contributions, and the FEC for federal filings. You can watch the full webinar here:
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