Introduction – This page summarizes financial information disclosed by each active 2008 Presidential candidate who has reported at least $1,000,000 in contributions from individuals other than the candidate.
New Features! -- We've added more capabilities to the Presidential map which allow you to easily access even greater detail about the financial activity of each campaign. Click the"Compare Candidates" button to see a breakdown of each candidate's receipts in graphical form. Then click on any candidate's name from this list to view a more complete summary of their financial activity including links that will show you details of both receipts and spending for the candidate. You can also find this detailed information by clicking on the candidate's name from any individual candidate map page.
We've also added the general election committees for McCain - (McCain-Palin 2008 which spends the public grant of $84.1 million in the general election period, and the McCain-Palin Compliance Fund which raises and spends funds for legal and compliance expenses associated with the public funding program).
Navigation tips – Most of the pages in this section (national and state maps overall and for each candidate) use breadcrumbs near the top of the page to help with navigation. It’s best to use these to move back through the system, rather than using the back button on your browser. The exception to this is when you move from the map displays to the current presidential filings (at the bottom left of the page) – here you will need to use the back button to return to the maps. Also, each of the maps allow you to “zoom-in” by right-clicking anywhere on the map and choosing the zoom-in option.
List of Candidates - The list on the left side of the page shows the name of each candidate and his or her overall receipts, including contributions from the candidate, individuals and other political committees as well as transfers from the candidate’s prior federal campaigns. (View the formulas)
Reporting Periods - Prior to the election year, presidential committees shown on the Presidential Map file quarterly. During the election year, they convert to monthly filing.
Reporting schedule for the 2008 Presidential election:
| Report | Due | Covers From | Covers To |
|---|---|---|---|
April Quarterly |
04/15/2007 | 01/01/2007 | 03/31/2007 |
July Quarterly |
07/15/2007 | 04/01/2007 | 06/30/2007 |
October Quarterly |
10/15/2007 | 07/01/2007 | 09/30/2007 |
Year End |
01/31/2008 | 10/01/2007 | 12/31/2007 |
February Monthly |
02/20/2008 | 01/01/2008 | 01/31/2008 |
March Monthly |
03/20/2008 | 02/01/2008 | 02/29/2008 |
April Monthly |
04/20/2008 | 03/01/2008 | 03/31/2008 |
May Monthly |
05/20/2008 | 04/01/2008 | 04/30/2008 |
June Monthly |
06/20/2008 | 05/01/2008 | 05/31/2008 |
July Monthly |
07/20/2008 | 06/01/2008 | 06/30/2008 |
August Monthly |
08/20/2008 | 07/01/2008 | 07/31/2008 |
September Monthly |
09/20/2008 | 08/01/2008 | 08/31/2008 |
October Monthly |
10/20/2008 | 09/01/2008 | 09/30/2008 |
Pre-General |
10/23/2008 | 10/01/2008 | 10/15/2008 |
Post-General |
12/04/2008 | 10/16/2008 | 11/24/2008 |
Year End |
01/31/2009 | 11/25/2008 | 12/31/2008 |
For more detail on reporting schedules, see the Reporting Dates Page.
Summary – The “Summary” table on the right side of the page shows the breakdown of receipts by source. Contributions are listed first, by the specific types of donors – individuals, Political Action Committees (PACs), Parties, and personal contributions from the Candidate. Each of these amounts represents the total for 2007-2008, and each category has been adjusted for any refunds the campaign has made to these sources. “Transfers-In” displays the total amount of all transfers from previous federal campaigns or any other committees authorized by each candidate.
NOTE: We've added information about individual contributions to the candidates that have come through jointfundraising committees. These specific contributions are reported as transfers from authorized committees, so you'll need to click on the Transfers line to see the details for these contributions.
Also listed here is the Disbursement total for each candidate. The final item included is the campaign’s cash on hand value from its most recent report. (View the formulas)
Size of Donations – This table breaks down contributions from individuals by size. Contributions must be listed separately on FEC disclosure reports once the total received from any one person exceeds $200 in an election cycle. This table groups these itemized contributions by size, and also includes the total of individual contributions that have not exceeded the $200 threshold. This list only includes contributions from individuals and does not include receipts from other sources. Under Federal law, individuals may contribute a maximum of $2,300 per election to each candidate. Adjustments have been made in this table where large contributions (generally exceeding $2,300) have been redesignated for a different election or reattributed to a different person. (View the formulas)
National Map – The National Map presents the totals by state for each candidate (or for all candidates, all Democrats, or all Republicans) in contributions from individuals that have been listed separately in disclosure reports. Contributions must be listed separately on FEC disclosure reports, including address information for the donor, once the total received from any one person exceeds $200 in an election cycle. Circles represent the value of contributions from individuals in each state, and the circles are designed to be proportional across states for each candidate and also across candidates (bigger circles indicate more contributions).
Click on any state circle to view a map of that state where contributions are represented by circles for zip code zones within the state. Moving your mouse over any circle will show the first three digits of the zip code for that zone along with the total of all itemized individual contributions from that region. Click on any circle to see the list of specific contributions including the contributor’s name, city, state, and five digit zip code, along with the date and amount of each contribution and any special explanatory information provided about entries. You can click on the titles of some of the information categories (name or amount, for example) to sort the contributions. These listings may be divided into pages for clearer presentation, or viewed at once by selecting “Show All” in the upper right corner. You can also export the specific contributions to excel or other software by right-clicking in the listing or by selecting all of the information and copying it into another application.
You can also “right-click” on any state map to zoom-in. This magnified view of the state can also be moved by placing your mouse over the map and dragging to a different area of the state.
Expenditures - This table provides more information about the types of spending reported by Presidential campaigns. "Operating expenditures" are the routine costs of campaigning - these would include staffing, travel, advertising, voter outreach, etc. "Transfers to other authorized" includes transfers to other committees within the same Presidential campaign (e.g. to a general election legal and accounting fund) or transfers back to campaigns for other offices when the Presidential campaign has ended. "Fundraising expenditures" and "exempt legal and accounting disbursements" apply to primary election campaigns for candidates accepting public matching funds. Some spending for these activities is exempt from the overall spending limit imposed on those receiving matching funds. The total of any "loan repayments" made by the campaign are also listed here. "Other disbursements" include a variety of miscellaneous payments. "Offsets to expenditures" are actually receipts, but they reflect returns of deposits paid to vendors and other refunds back to the committee - this value is often subtracted from expenditure totals to get a better sense of actual spending. "Contribution refunds" represents the total returned by the campaign to donors. Finally, "Debts owed by" the campaign is the sum of remaining loans outstanding and other obligations to vendors or others that are yet to be paid by the campaign.
Compare Candidates - Click on the compare button to see financial summaries for all these Presidential candidates including graphs showing the breakdown of receipts by source. Then select specific candidates by checking the box next to their names and choose "compare" again to see direct comparisons for cash on hand, receipts, disbursements, and debts.
Current Presidential Filings – The link at the bottom left of the page takes you to the most recent disclosure report filed by the selected candidate (or a list of candidates if the map for all candidates has been selected). This page presents the summary information contained in the most recent report, along with links to tables providing overviews of the contributions and disbursements included on the report (e.g., contribution totals by employer of the donor and disbursement totals by purpose).
Receipts of 2008 Presidential Campaigns – The link at the bottom center of the page takes you to table of receipt totals for all candidates for easier comparisons across campaigns.
Presidential Campaign Finance Summaries – This link offers a collection of historical information from previous Presidential elections that provides context for the 2008 campaign.
Formulas
Formula for campaign receipts in the grey box to the left of the map
The numbers below (e.g. 17a) represent the line numbers from the detailed summary pages of FEC form 3P.
(17a - 28a) + (17b - 28b) + (17c - 28c) + 17d + (19a - 27a) + (19b - 27b) + 18 + 21+16
In general, the formula represents the sum of contributions, after subtracting any contribution refunds back to donors; loans, after subtracting repayments; transfers from previous campaigns or other authorized committees; and any other miscellaneous receipts.
Formula for Summary to the upper right of the map
The numbers below (e.g. 17a) represent the line numbers from the detailed summary pages of FEC form 3P.
Individual= 17a-28a
PAC = 17c-28c
Party= 17b-28b
Candidate = 17d+19a-27a
Transfers in = 18
Disbursements=(23-20a)+(25-20b)+(26-20c)+29
For Individuals, PACs, and Parties, the values represent the totals for contributions from each source minus any refunds back to donors. Candidate includes both contributions and loans from the candidate minus any loan repayments.
Disbursements includes operating expenditures, fundraising disbursements, and legal and accounting costs, minus any refunds returned to the campaign from vendors along with miscellaneous other disbursements.
Formula for the breakdown of contributions from individuals by size, at the lower right of the map
Contributions by size:
$200 and under: Line 17a total minus the sum of specific contributions from individuals over $200
$200.01-$499 - sum of specific contributions from individuals between $200.01 and $499.99
$500-$999 - sum of specific contributions from individuals between $500 and $999.99
$1000-$1999 - sum of specific contributions from individuals between $1000 and $1999.99
$2000 and over - sum of specific contributions from individuals greater than or equal to $2000 Note: some adjustments were made in this category when contributions larger than $2,300 have been redesignated for another election or reattributed to a spouse