How to read the money trail

Where the numbers come from

The figures come from reports filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). After Citizens United collects those filings, checks them and publishes them with a link to each source record. This site embeds After Citizens United’s evidence cards rather than copying the numbers, so each card shows the current publication.

Outside spending

A group can report spending money on communications (ads, mail, digital messages) that support or oppose a federal candidate, without coordinating with the campaign. These independent expenditures are reported to the FEC. The candidate does not receive this money.

Filing records are not a certified ballot. Cards can include candidates from earlier stages of the cycle. Use the state election office for current ballot and district information.

Election scope and the November 3, 2026 general-election date: FEC election calendar. House seat directory: U.S. House of Representatives. These sources do not establish complete finance coverage.

Three dates

Three dates describe the data on this site, and each means something different.

Source collection date

Shown by source in the live card (UTC).

Reporting period

Varies by filing; shown with each figure.

Publication date

Current publication identity and generation time are shown in the card.

What “supports” and “opposes” mean

Each independent expenditure report says whether the communication supported or opposed the named candidate. “Supports” and “Opposes” repeat what the filer reported; they are not this site’s judgement.

✓ Supports ✕ Opposes

On this site “Supports” is a solid pill with a check mark and “Opposes” is a dotted outline with a cross, so the labels never depend on colour alone. Party is shown as plain text.

Spending is not receiving

Three different things:

• A contribution is money given to a candidate’s campaign committee. A contribution to a committee is not necessarily a payment to the person.
• Outside spending is paid for by the group and goes to the vendors who make and place the ads.
• A vendor payment is that payment to a media buyer, printer or consultant. The vendor is the payee, not the subject of the ad.

The roles stay separate:

• SpenderThe group that pays for the communication.
• Candidate (the subject)The person the communication is about.
• Vendor (the payee)The business paid to make or place it.
• Recipient (for contributions)The campaign committee that receives a contribution.

No record is not zero

“No record found within current coverage” means no filing was found in the period After Citizens United has collected. It is not the same as $0. Filings submitted after the collection date, or not yet processed, will not appear.

What this guide leaves out

• Communications that do not have to be reported to the FEC, such as many issue ads.
• State and local races.
• Lobbying.
• Spending reported after the collection date.

Individual donors are not profiled. California has no U.S. Senate election in 2026, so the guide covers the 52 U.S. House races only.

Glossary

Contribution

Money given to a candidate’s campaign committee. A contribution to a committee is not necessarily a payment to the person.

Independent expenditure (outside spending)

Money a group reports spending on communications (ads, mail, digital messages) that support or oppose a federal candidate, without coordinating with the campaign. It is reported to the FEC. The candidate does not receive this money.

Supports / Opposes

Whether the filer reported that a communication supported or opposed the named candidate. The labels repeat the filer’s report; they are not this site’s judgement.

Spender

The group that paid for the communication and reported it.

Vendor (payee)

The media buyer, printer or consultant the spender paid to make or place the communication. The vendor is the payee, not the subject of the ad.

Recipient

For contributions, the campaign committee that received the money.

Coverage

The filings After Citizens United has collected, up to its collection date. “No record found within current coverage” is not the same as $0.

Reporting period

The dates a filer’s report covers.

Publication

The dataset After Citizens United published, which this site’s evidence cards show. Its date is the publication date.

Candidate (subject)

The candidate a communication is about. The subject of an ad does not receive the money spent on it.

Corrections & contact

Send a correction to After Citizens United. Include this site’s name, the page URL, the item in question and a link to the official filing or election source. Do not include private addresses or credentials.

Evidence-card figures change when After Citizens United publishes corrected data. Corrections to this guide’s own explanations are reviewed separately.

About this guide

The California Money Trail is an After Citizens United guide. It embeds evidence cards from After Citizens United; you can build your own with the evidence tools.

An independent public-interest guide. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or funded by the State of California or any government agency.

This guide connects readers to reported federal campaign-finance evidence from After Citizens United. Coverage is partial and changes with the publication.

Privacy and embedded evidence

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This guide does not ask for your address or store a district lookup. Official election services and the corrections form are separate websites.

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