PAC Activity Increases For 2004 Elections
| For Immediate Release April 13, 2005 |
Contact: | Bob Biersack Ian Stirton Kelly Huff George Smaragdis |
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PAC ACTIVITY INCREASES FOR 2004 ELECTIONS |
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WASHINGTON - Financial activity by political action committees (PACs) increased during 2003-2004 when compared to the prior two-year period, according to figures compiled by the Federal Election Commission. From January 1, 2003, through December 31, 2004, PACs raised $915.7 million (up 34% over 2002) and spent $842.9 million, up 28% over 2001-2002. Cash on hand as of December 31, 2004, for the 4,867 PACs totaled $241.7 million. PAC contributions to federal candidates during 2003-2004 totaled $310.5 million, up 10% from 2001-2002. Most of the money - $292.1 million - was given to candidates seeking election in 2004. The remaining $18.4 million went to candidates running for office in future years, or to debt retirement for candidates in past cycles. The following table summarizes PAC contributions from 1990 through 2004:
(millions of dollars) Incumbents continued to receive most of the PAC contributions as they have in previous elections. The following table shows the distribution of contributions according to incumbents, challengers, and open seat races over seven election cycles.
(millions of dollars)
House candidates received $231.4 million from PACs, up 9% from the previous cycle while Senate candidates received $76.1 million, also 9% above 2002 levels. Republican congressional candidates received $176 million, an increase of 21% from the previous cycle, while Democrats received $134.3 million, down 2% from the previous cycle. The following chart provides PAC contributions and percentages by political party over several election cycles (in millions of dollars).
(millions of dollars)
In addition to the $310 million in contributions, PACs made $57.3 million in independent expenditures for and against candidates. Of this, $48.6 million was spent on behalf of various candidates and $8.7 million was spent against them. Some PACs (mostly nonconnected committees) also maintain nonfederal accounts and must therefore use a combination of federal and nonfederal funds to pay for activities that relate to both federal and state or local elections (e.g. overhead expenses, etc.). In addition to the federal receipts and disbursements discussed above, PACs reported spending a total of $144.5 million in nonfederal funds (sometimes called “soft” money) for these shared expenses. The following table lists PAC nonfederal spending in each two-year election cycle since 1992:
The top 10 committees reporting nonfederal spending in 2003-2004:
The tables below provide data on PAC financial activity for 2004-2003 and comparable summary statistics for several previous election cycles. Other tables show the distribution of PACs by total amount spent and total contributed to candidates. Rankings of the “Top 50” PACs in various categories, such as money raised and spent are also included. This release and accompanying statistics can be found on FEC’s website at www.fec.gov under Press Office. Tables
PAC Financial Activity 2003-2004 [excel] [pdf] Summary of PAC Activity 1990-2004 [excel] [pdf] PAC Contributions to Candidates [excel] [pdf] PAC Contributions to Candidates 1994-2004 [excel] [pdf] PAC Contributions to House Campaigns by Candidate Status [excel] [pdf] Charts of PAC Contributions to House Campaigns Over Time [pdf] PACs Grouped by Total Disbursements [excel] [pdf] PACs Grouped by Contributions to Candidates [excel] [pdf] PAC Independent Expenditures [excel] [pdf] Top 50 PACs
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