Money Flow

Who Funds Congress?

Follow the money from donors through committees to candidates in the 2024 election cycle

2024 CycleFEC Data

American elections run on money. In the 2024 election cycle, candidates for federal office raised billions of dollars from millions of donors. But the money doesn't flow directly from donor to candidate — it passes through a complex network of political committees, PACs, and party organizations.

This article traces those flows using FEC itemized receipt data to answer a simple question: who is actually funding Congress?

Visualization

The Money Flow

Each link shows the total contributions from a donor to a committee. Thicker links mean more money. Click a donor or committee to explore further.

Top Donors by Total Contributions

Top Fundraisers by Total Raised

Blue = Democrat, Red = Republican

What the data shows

The Sankey diagram above reveals the key arteries of political funding in 2024. A handful of mega-donors and organizations funnel millions through committees that support multiple candidates simultaneously.

The top 10 donors alone contributed $4371.9M in itemized contributions. The single largest donor, BLOOMBERG, MICHAEL R., contributed $1387.4M.

On the receiving end, the top 20 fundraisers collectively raised $10835.6M. The top fundraiser was BLOOMBERG, MICHAEL R. (DEM) with $1089.3M from 225 donors.

Data

Top Donors (All Time)

#	Donor	State	Total
1	BLOOMBERG, MICHAEL R.	NY	$1,387,395,329
2	WINRED	VA	$514,135,350
3	FUTURE FORWARD USA ACTION	DC	$344,148,749
4	ADELSON, MIRIAM	NV	$336,076,950
5	STEYER, TOM	CA	$332,856,155
6	MELLON, TIMOTHY	WY	$319,039,377
7	STEYER, THOMAS F.	CA	$307,307,482
8	SENATE LEADERSHIP FUND	DC	$303,481,821
9	MAJORITY FORWARD	DC	$270,355,416
10	MUSK, ELON	TX	$257,132,230
11	SOROS, GEORGE	NY	$242,634,263
12	YASS, JEFF	PA	$181,160,327
13	GRIFFIN, KENNETH C.	FL	$178,156,748
14	UIHLEIN, RICHARD	IL	$172,895,557
15	UIHLEIN, RICHARD E.	IL	$166,790,788

Data

Top Fundraisers (2024 Cycle)

#	Candidate	Party	Office	Raised	Donors	Small $%
1	BLOOMBERG, MICHAEL R.	DEM	P	$1,089,308,354	225	0.0%
2	OBAMA, BARACK	DEM	P	$1,063,214,266	695,392	0.0%
3	OBAMA, BARACK	DEM	P	$1,063,214,266	695,392	0.0%
4	HARRIS, KAMALA D.	DEM	P	$947,658,842	1,248,248	31.9%
5	HARRIS, KAMALA	DEM	P	$947,658,842	1,248,248	31.9%
6	ROMNEY, MITT	REP	P	$711,856,598	354,592	-0.0%
7	ROMNEY, MITT / RYAN, PAUL D.	REP	P	$711,856,598	354,592	-0.0%
8	CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM	DEM	P	$466,814,676	496,065	8.5%
9	CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM / TIMOTHY MICHAEL KAINE	DEM	P	$466,814,676	496,065	8.5%
10	TRUMP, DONALD J	REP	P	$391,293,161	506,382	13.3%
11	TRUMP, DONALD	UNK	P	$391,293,161	506,382	13.3%
12	TRUMP, DONALD J.	REP	P	$391,293,161	506,382	13.3%
13	TRUMP, DONALD J. / MICHAEL R. PENCE	REP	P	$391,293,161	506,382	13.3%
14	MCCAIN, JOHN S	REP	P	$361,106,157	261,449	-0.6%
15	MCCAIN, JOHN S	REP	P	$361,106,157	261,449	-0.6%

Methodology

This analysis uses FEC itemized individual contribution data (Schedule A receipts). Only contributions above the $200 itemization threshold are included — unitemized small-dollar donations are reported in aggregate and cannot be attributed to specific donors.

The Sankey diagram shows the top donor-to-committee flows for the 2024 election cycle, filtered to flows exceeding $1,000. Committee names are resolved from FEC committee master files.