How to read campaign-finance data
Understand reporting cycles, receipts, spending, cash on hand, and OpenSecrets organization totals before comparing campaigns.
Match the candidate and reporting period
Start with the candidate’s identity, office, FEC identifier, reporting cycle, and coverage end date. A familiar name by itself is not enough to match two records. Similar names, earlier campaigns, and different committees can lead to misleading comparisons.
The reporting cycle and a report’s coverage dates answer different questions. A site refresh date only tells you about the site’s stored data. It does not mean every donation made up to that moment has been reported or processed. FEC financial summaries are updated periodically from filings.
Read each amount for what it measures
Receipts show money coming in; disbursements show money going out. Cash on hand is a reported balance at the end of a period. Debts are a separate part of the financial picture. Receipts can include more than individual contributions, so “money raised from donors” may be too narrow a label for a total receipts figure.
Compare candidates using the same cycle and similar coverage dates. Do not add cash on hand to receipts as if they were separate fundraising totals. A blank or unavailable amount is not evidence of a zero-dollar report. Open the FEC filing when a category, amendment, or coverage period needs clarification.
Use organization totals carefully
OpenSecrets offers organization and industry groupings alongside its other research. On electED, open the linked OpenSecrets profile, check the candidate and cycle, then scroll down to Organization contributions where available. If the link opens a search, select the matching profile first.
Organization-associated totals can combine PAC and affiliated individual contributions. They should not automatically be described as a single check from the organization. Read the grouping’s explanation and component amounts at the source. Automated access restrictions can prevent electED from displaying a breakdown even when the source page opens in your browser.
Compare, verify, then share
A useful comparison names the candidate, amount, category, cycle, coverage end date, and source. For example: “reported cash on hand through the displayed coverage date” makes the limit of the figure clear. A large total alone does not prove influence, wrongdoing, or an election outcome.
Use Follow the money for congressional profiles and Elections for candidate filing records. Keep the direct profile link with your notes so someone else can check the same source. Read the methodology page if the two sources use different categories or totals.
Try it on electED
Sources
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