The current campaign summary file contains one record including summary financial information for each campaign. This file is completely dependent upon summary information reported by the campaign itself. This means that the time period covered by this file may be more recent than for the current version of the post-cycle candidate summary file described below. During the primary election season the period covered may be different for candidates in different states. The cost of this timeliness, though, is that some of the information available here is less precise than for the post-cycle candidate summary file. For example, break-outs by special interest group code are not possible.
When using the current campaign summary file you need to be aware of some possible double counting of activity. Some candidates have more then one committee authorized to raise and spend funds on their behalf. The activity reflected in this file represents the sum of those committees. If they transfer funds back and forth among each other, this activity would be counted twice. Information about “transfers from authorized committees” and “transfers to authorized committees” is included in the file and if there are values in both of these fields it is necessary to subtract these from total receipts and total disbursements to obtain a more accurate value for actual activity.
The all candidate summary file contains one record including summary financial information for all candidates who raised or spent money during the period no matter when they are up for election. This file is similar to the current campaign summary file described above. This file is completely dependent upon summary information reported by the campaign itself. This means that the time period covered by this file may be more recent than for the current version of the post-cycle candidate summary file described below. During the primary election season the period covered may be different for candidates in different states. The cost of this timeliness, though, is that some of the information available here is less precise than for the post-cycle candidate summary file. For example, break-outs by special interest group code are not possible.
When using the all candidates summary file you need to be aware of some possible double counting of activity. Some candidates have more then one committee authorized to raise and spend funds on their behalf. The activity reflected in this file represents the sum of those committees. If they transfer funds back and forth among each other, this activity would be counted twice. Information about “transfers from authorized committees” and “transfers to authorized committees” is included in the file and if there are values in both of these fields it is necessary to subtract these from total receipts and total disbursements to obtain a more accurate value for actual activity.
The current PAC summary file contains one record including financial information for each PAC. This file gives overall receipts and disbursements for each PAC and party committee registered with the commission and a breakdown of overall receipts by source. It also includes totals for contributions to other committees and independent expenditures made.
The PAC detailed summary file contains one record for each candidate to whom a PAC made either a contribution or an independent expenditure. It identifies the candidate and the total amount given or spent by the PAC. For any one candidate there are as many records in these files as there were PACs that made contributions or expenditures in their campaigns. This file can be used then to see which candidates a PAC has supported and alternatively you can see which PACs have given to a specific candidate.
The post-cycle candidate summary file contains one record for each candidate or campaign for the U.S. House or Senate. This file includes summary information about the financing of the campaign, including total receipts, the total individual contributions, totals from each of six categories of political action committees (i.e. corporate, labor, trade/membership/health, cooperative, corporation without stock, and PACs with no connected organization or sponsor), totals from party committees, campaign spending, cash on hand, and debts owed by the campaign.
The post-cycle PAC summary file contains one record for each PAC. It includes financial information from the PAC including receipts and spending, contributions to Senate and House candidates, contributions to Democrats, Republicans and other party candidates, contributions to incumbent members of Congress, challengers, and candidates in open-seat races.
The post-cycle party summary file contains one record for each party committee involved in federal elections. The file includes financial information for the party committee including receipts and disbursements, contributions to federal candidates, and expenditures made on behalf of Congressional campaigns.
The party detailed summary file contains one record for each candidate to whom a party made either a contribution or an independent expenditure. It identifies the candidate and the total amount given or spent by the party. For any one candidate there are as many records in these files as there were parties that made contributions or expenditures in their campaigns. This file can be used then to see which candidates a party has supported and alternatively you can see which parties have given to a specific candidate.
INSERT DATA-FILE TABLES HERE
| File Type (Follow Link for Description) | File | Format Description |
|---|---|---|
| Current Campaign Summary | weblxx.zip | webl.txt |
| All Candidates Summary File | weballxx.zip | |
| Current PAC Summary File | webkxx.zip | webk00.txt |
| PAC Detailed Summary File | pacdetxx.zip | pacdet94.txt pacdet96.txt |
| Post-Cycle Candidate Summary File | cansumxx.zip | cansum94.txt |
| Post-Cycle PAC Summary File | pacsumxx.zip | pacsum94.txt |
| Post-Cycle Party Summary File | ptysumxx.zip | ptsum94.txt |
| Party Detailed Summary File | ptydetxx.zip | ptydet94.txt ptydet96.txt |
Candidate Summary for 2002 Without PAC Breakdown - the Most Current Information Available
Moreover, in order to make information comparable, we only create "cansum" files when everyone has submitted reports through a given time period (usually quarterly) and all detailed information has been process for that time. This means that "webl" will almost always contain more current information, while "cansum" will contain the most recent comparable detailed information. This is about as clear as mud, but when you get lots of different committees filing reports on different schedules with different time delays in processing, things can get pretty complicated. We've tried to give you a choice here - use "webl" for the most up to date campaign summaries on a monthly basis, or use "cansum" for more comprehensive summaries on a quarterly basis.
When using these summary files you need to be aware of some possible double counting of activity. Some candidates have more then one committee authorized to raise and spend funds on their behalf. The activity reflected in this file represents the sum of those committees. If they transfer funds back and forth among each other, this activity would be counted twice. Information about "transfers from authorized committees" and "transfers to authorized committees" is included in the file and if there are values in both of these fields it is necessary to subtract these from total receipts and total disbursements to obtain a more accurate value for actual activity.
There is also a "webl" file for the 1999-2000 election cycle
There is also a "webl" file for the 1997-98 election cycle
There is also a "webl" for the 1995-96 election cycle
We've added a new file - weball02.zip. This file contains 2001-2002 summary information for all candidates who raised or spent money during the period, no matter when they're up for election. This means that you can now check out the fundraising activity of Senate members and other candidates considering races in later cycles.
There is a weball96 as well.
Be sure to download the Format Description so you can interpret the file. This format applies to both "webl" and also "weball".
We have also created files containing one record for each candidate for the U.S. House or Senate during each of the last several election cycles. Each of these is a fixed length, undelimited file with one record for each campaign for the U.S. House or Senate. This file includes summary information about the financing of the campaign, including total receipts, the total coming from individuals, totals from each of six categories of Political Action Committees (i.e. Corporate, Labor, Trade/Membership/Health, Cooperative, Corporation without Stock, and PACs with no connected organization or sponsor), totals from Party committees, campaign spending, cash on hand, and debts owed by the campaign.
NOTE: The format of the 1996 and later files has been changed to accomodate party independent expenditures which were new in the 1996 campaign. You will need to get the separate Format Description for this file!
Format Description (the same for each year)
The most current information available for PACs is a file called
This file gives overall receipts and disbursements for each PAC and party committee registered with the commission, along with a breakdown of overall receipts by source and totals for contributions to other committees, independent expenditures made, etc.
webk00.zip covers 1999-2000
You should also download the format description in order to use this file.
- We've added a new file containing summary information for PACs. This file, called pacsum contains one record for each PAC. It includes financial information from the PAC, e.g. pac receipts and spending, contributions to Senate and House candidates, contributions to Democrats, Republicans and other party candidates, contributions to incumbent members of Congress, challengers, and candidates in open seats.
Be sure to also download the Format Description which is also the same as pacsum94.
Since this file summarized detailed information about contributions to candidates, the time period covered by the file will only change when we have completed processing information for a complete reporting period. The 2000 file is now complete through December 31, 2000.
We've created similar files with information about specific PACs covering several elections. Each of these is a fixed length, undelimited file with one record for each PAC involved in federal elections. It includes financial information from the PAC, e.g. pac receipts and spending, contributions to Senate and House candidates, contributions to Democrats, Republicans and other party candidates, contributions to incumbent members of Congress, challengers, and candidates in open seats.
Format Description (the same for each year)
Summary files also exist for each federal committee of the political parties. Each is a fixed length, undelimited file with one record for each party committee involved in federal elections. The file includes financial information for the party committee including receipts and disbursements, contributions to federal candidates, and expenditures made on behalf of Congressional campaigns.
There are also two more detailed files available for past election cycles. These contain information about specific PACs or party committees' contributions and expenditures related to federal campaigns. In these files, each PAC or party committee has one record for each specific candidate the committee supported. Similarly, for any one candidate there are as many records in these files as there were PACs or party committees who made contributions or expenditures in their campaigns.
PAC File.
pacdet00.zip Through December 31, 2000
pacdet98.zip
pacdet96.zip 1,820,000+ bytes
pacdet94.zip 1,820,000+ bytes
pacdet92.zip 1,820,000+ bytes
Format Description - '96
Format Description - '94 and earlier
The same as the PAC detailed file described above, but it contains only party committee activity.
ptydet00.zip Through December 31, 2000
ptydet98.zip
ptydet96.zip 42,000+ bytes
ptydet94.zip 42,000+ bytes
ptydet92.zip 42,000+ bytes
Format Description - '96
Format Description - '94 and earlier
(The formats are slightly different in 1995-96 to account for party committees making independent expenditures for and against candidates. 1996 is the first election cycle during which parties made these expenditures.
