Statistical Summary of 18-Month Campaign Activity of the 2023-2024 Election Cycle

Presidential candidates collected $815.1 million and disbursed $586.4 million, Congressional candidates collected $2.5 billion and disbursed $1.8 billion, political parties received $1.4 billion and spent $1 billion, and political action committees (PACs) raised $7.3 billion and spent $6 billion, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission that cover activity from January 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. Disbursements for independent expenditures reported in this period totaled $736.5 million. Communication costs reported to the Commission totaled $3.9 million and electioneering communications filings totaled $1.7 million during this period.

This summary of campaign activity in the 2023-2024 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.

As of June 30, 2024, 106 individuals had filed campaign finance reports disclosing financial activity in connection with the 2024 presidential election. These candidates reported raising $815.1 million and spending $586.4 million from January 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. Their combined cash-on-hand was $254.3 million, while their combined debt was $74.1 million as of June 30, 2024.

Data summary tables for reports submitted to the Commission through June 30, 2024 by 2024 presidential candidate committees can be found here.

United States House and Senate candidates running in the 2024 election cycle reported raising a total of $2.5 billion and spending $1.8 billion between January 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. Candidates for the two chambers reported combined total debts of $445 million and combined total cash-on-hand of $1.1 billion as of June 30, 2024.

The following table summarizes campaign finance activity of House and Senate candidates through June 30 of election years since the 2013-2014 election cycle.

The 255 candidates running for Senate in 2023 and 2024 reported total receipts of $857.5 million, disbursements of $681.9 million, debts of $181.1 million and cash-on-hand of $305 million.

The 1,809 candidates running for the House of Representatives reported combined total receipts of $1.6 billion, disbursements of $1.2 billion, debts of $263.7 million and cash-on-hand of $806.9 million in the 18-month period. In addition to the 2024 primary and general elections, these numbers encompass financial activity associated with the 2023 and 2024 special elections for California’s 20th Congressional District, California’s Senate seat, Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District, New York’s 3rd and 26th Congressional Districts, Ohio’s 6th Congressional District, Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District, Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, Virginia’s 4th Congressional District, and Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District.

Data summary tables for reports submitted to the Commission through June 30, 2024 by 2023 and 2024 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 billion, debts of $3.8 million, and cash-on-hand of $518.9 million as of June 30, 2024. Of those totals, party committees other than the two major political parties reported receipts of $4.2 million, disbursements of $3.6 million, debts of $0.3 million and a combined cash-on-hand of $1.9 million as of June 30, 2024. (See the footnote in the following table for a list of these other party committees.)

The following table summarizes 2023-2024 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 $41,300 per year during the 2023-24 election cycle, were the largest source of federal funds for party committees’ traditional accounts. Democratic and Republican party committees reported receiving $379.2 million and $338.1 million, respectively, from individuals. PACs and other political committees contributed $61.6 million to Democratic party committees and $59.8 million to Republican party committees as of June 30, 2024.

Democratic and Republican House candidate committees transferred $34.9 million and $33 million, respectively, from their campaign accounts to their national congressional party committees. Democratic Senate candidate committees transferred $1.2 million to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Their Republican counterparts transferred $702,000 to the National Republican Senatorial 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 (collectively, “segregated party accounts”).

The segregated party accounts of national party committees reported receiving $247.4 million between January 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. Of that total, the Democratic national party committee segregated party accounts received $102 million, while the corresponding Republican national party committee accounts received $145.1 million.

Recount accounts reported the highest receipt total across all the segregated party accounts: $113.9 million. Headquarters and convention accounts raised $105.1 million and $28.4 million, respectively, through June 30, 2024.

Data summary tables for reports submitted by political party committees to the Commission through June 30, 2024 can be found here.

Based on reports filed with the Commission from January 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024, 8,540 federal PACs reported total receipts of $7.3 billion, disbursements of $6 billion, debts of $32.7 million, and combined cash-on-hand of $2.6 billion.

The following table summarizes campaign finance activity of PACs based on PAC type in 2024. 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 2023-2024 election cycle totaled approximately $332.7 million as of June 30, 2024. PAC contributions to Senate and House candidates totaled $44.1 million and $288.2 million, respectively. Contributions by PACs to 2024 presidential candidates totaled $507,085 as of June 30, 2024. 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, 2024 can be found here.

Independent expenditures reported to the Commission through June 30, 2024 in connection with presidential and congressional elections in the 2023-2024 election cycle totaled $736.5 million.* Independent Expenditure-Only Political Committees accounted for $477.1 million of all independent expenditures disclosed to the Commission, Committees with Non-Contribution Accounts reported $235.5 million, and other PACs reported $11.2 million. Independent expenditures made by persons other than political committees totaled $8.2 million, and party committees reported independent expenditures totaling $4.5 million.

Data summary tables for independent expenditure filings submitted to the Commission through June 30, 2024 can be found here.

Electioneering communication filings totaling $1.7 million were reported to the Commission in connection with activity between January 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. An electioneering communication is a broadcast, cable, or satellite communication that refers to a clearly identified federal candidate and is distributed within 30 days prior to a primary election or within 60 days prior to a general election. These communications do not expressly advocate the election or defeat of a federal candidate.

The data summary table for electioneering communications submitted to the Commission through June 30, 2024 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 but are not considered independent expenditures. This provision of the Act predates 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 28 such filings during the reporting period, disclosing spending of $3.9 million in costs for communications to organizations’ restricted classes between January 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.

The data summary table for communication cost filings submitted to the Commission through June 30, 2024 can be found here.