Statistical Summary of 18-Month Campaign Activity of the 2019-2020 Election Cycle

Presidential candidates raised nearly $2.8 billion and spent over $2.5 billion in the first 18 months of the 2019-2020 election cycle, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission that cover activity from January 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. Congressional candidates collected approximately $1.9 billion and disbursed approximately $1.2 billion, political parties received $1.4 billion and spent nearly $1.1 billion, and political action committees (PACs) raised over $5.2 billion and spent over $4.4 billion in the 18-month period. Disbursements for independent expenditures reported in this period totaled $318 million. Electioneering communications and communication costs reported to the Commission totaled $3 million and $1.2 million, respectively.

This summary of campaign activity in the 2019-2020 election cycle provides a benchmark for comparison with the same reporting period in other cycles. Supporting data tables are linked at the end of each summary section below.*

*The data presented in these statistical summaries do not include all reports filed on paper. To minimize COVID-19 exposure, the Commission closed its office headquarters in mid-March 2020 and the processing of reports submitted on paper will be delayed until the agency resumes normal operations. Financial activity of paper filers will be accounted for in the first statistical release after the reopening of the agency’s office. (Approximately 94 percent of reports submitted to the Commission are filed electronically. Electronic filing is mandatory for all filers who receive contributions or make expenditures that exceed $50,000 in a calendar year, or have reason to expect to do so.)

As of June 30, 2020, 137 individuals had filed campaign finance reports disclosing financial activity in connection with the 2020 presidential election. These candidates reported raising nearly $2.8 billion and spending more than $2.5 billion from January 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. Their combined cash-on-hand was $243.2 million, while their combined debt was $12.2 million as of June 30, 2020.

Data summary tables for reports submitted to the Commission through June 30, 2020 by 2020 presidential candidate committees can be found here.

United States House and Senate candidates running in the 2020 election cycle reported raising $1.9 billion and spending $1.2 billion between January 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020. Candidates for the two chambers reported combined total debts of $140.9 million and combined total cash-on-hand of more than $1 billion as of June 30, 2020.

The following table summarizes campaign finance activity of House and Senate candidates through June 30 of election years since the 2009-2010 election cycle.

The 273 candidates running for Senate in 2019 and 2020 reported total receipts of $702.6 million, disbursements of $413.7 million, debts of $44.6 million and cash-on-hand of $356.8 million. In addition to the 2020 primary and general elections, these numbers encompass financial activity associated with the 2020 special election for Georgia’s U.S. Senate seat.

The 2,000 candidates running for the House of Representatives reported combined total receipts of $1.2 billion, disbursements of $785.5 million, debts of $96.2 million and cash-on-hand of $662.3 million in the 18-month period. In addition to the 2019 primary and general elections, these numbers encompass financial activity associated with the 2019 and 2020 special elections for California’s 25th Congressional District, Georgia’s 5th Congressional District, Maryland’s 7th Congressional District, New York’s 27th Congressional District, North Carolina’s 3rd, 9th, and 11th Congressional Districts, Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District and Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District.

Data summary tables for reports submitted to the Commission through June 30, 2020 by 2019 and 2020 congressional candidate committees can be found here.

National, state and local political party committees reported combined total receipts of $1.4 billion in federal funds, disbursements of $1.1 billion, debts of $6.2 million, and cash-on-hand of $432.5 million as of June 30, 2020. Of those totals, party committees other than the two major political parties reported receipts of $4.6 million, disbursements of $4 million, debts of more than $50,000, and a combined cash-on-hand of $1.6 million as of June 30, 2020. (See the footnote in the following table for a list of these other party committees.)

The following table summarizes 2019-2020 campaign finance activity of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), Republican National Committee (RNC), National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), as well as each party’s state and local committees and other party committees.

Individuals, for whom contributions to national parties were limited to $35,500 per year during the 2019-20 election cycle, were the largest source of federal funds for party committees’ traditional accounts. Democratic and Republican party committees reported receiving $408.2 million and $494.6 million, respectively, from individuals. PACs and other political committees contributed $57 million to Democratic party committees and $43.7 million to Republican party committees as of June 30, 2020.

Democratic and Republican House campaign committees transferred $14.4 million and $16.9 million, respectively, from their campaign accounts to their national congressional party committees. Committees representing Democratic Senate candidates transferred $35,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Committees representing Republican Senate candidates transferred $21,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Provisions of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (H.R. 83), signed into law in December 2014, enable national party committees to establish accounts to defray certain expenses incurred with respect to Presidential nominating conventions, national party headquarters buildings, and election recounts and contests and other legal proceedings.

The resulting new accounts of national party committees reported receiving $178.8 million between January 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020. Of that total, the new Democratic national party committee accounts received $72.6 million, while the corresponding Republican national party committee accounts received $106.1 million.

Headquarters accounts reported the highest receipt total across all the national party committee accounts: $102.7 million. Recount and convention accounts raised $53 million and $23 million, respectively, through June 30, 2020.

Data summary tables for reports submitted by political party committees to the Commission through June 30, 2020 can be found here.

Based on reports filed with the Commission from January 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020, 7,881 federal PACs reported total receipts of $5.2 billion, disbursements of $4.4 billion, debts of $24.3 million, and combined cash-on-hand of $1.5 billion.

The following table summarizes campaign finance activity of PACs based on PAC type in 2019 and 2020. This table includes both separate segregated funds (SSFs), which have connected organizations such as corporations or labor organizations that establish, administer or raise money on their behalf, and nonconnected committees.

Contributions by PACs to federal candidates seeking office in the 2019-2020 election cycle totaled approximately $303.6 million as of June 30, 2020. PAC contributions to Senate and House candidates totaled $56.9 million and $245.6 million, respectively. Contributions by PACs to 2020 presidential candidates totaled $1.0 million as of June 30, 2020. Independent Expenditure-Only Political Committees are prohibited from making contributions to candidates.

Data summary tables for reports submitted by PACs to the Commission through June 30, 2020 can be found here.

Independent expenditures reported to the Commission through June 30, 2020 in connection with presidential and congressional elections in the 2019-2020 election cycle totaled $318.2 million.* Independent Expenditure-Only Political Committees accounted for $198.6 million of all independent expenditures disclosed to the Commission, Committees with Non-Contribution Accounts reported $68.8 million, and other PACs reported $13.9 million. Independent expenditures made by persons other than political committees totaled $13.7 million and party committees reported independent expenditures totaling $23.1 million.

Data summary tables for independent expenditure filings submitted to the Commission through June 30, 2020 can be found here.

*A political committee must itemize its payments for independent expenditures once the calendar-year total paid to a vendor or other person exceeds $200 with respect to a particular election. Any other person (individual, partnership or group of individuals) must file a report with the Commission at the end of the first reporting period in which independent expenditures with respect to a given election aggregate more than $250 in a calendar year and in any succeeding period during the same year in which additional independent expenditures of any amount are made.

Electioneering communication filings totaling $3 million were reported to the Commission in connection with activity in 2019-2020. An electioneering communication is a broadcast, cable or satellite communication that refers to a clearly identified federal candidate and is publicly distributed within 30 days prior to a primary election or within 60 days prior to a general election for the office sought by the candidate, and is targeted to the relevant electorate. These communications are not expenditures or independent expenditures.

The data summary table for electioneering communications submitted to the Commission through June 30, 2020 can be found here.

A provision of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), allows corporations and labor organizations to communicate to a “restricted class” of individuals on any subject, including express advocacy of the election or defeat of any Federal candidate. The costs of such communications must be reported to the Commission when the cost exceeds $2,000 per election. This provision of the Act pre-dates the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which struck down the ban on independent expenditures and electioneering communications financed by the general treasuries of corporations and labor unions.

The Commission received 24 such filings during the reporting period, disclosing spending of $1.2 million in costs for communications to organizations’ restricted classes between January 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020.

The data summary table for communication cost filings submitted to the Commission through June 30, 2020 can be found here.