FEC releases summary of campaign activity during Initial 15 months of election cycle

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) recently released a summary of campaign activity for the first 15 months of the election cycle (January 1, 2013-March 31, 2014). Total political contributions and expenditures were, once again, in the billions. Expenditures reported were as follows:

Congressional Candidates

In the 2014 election cycle, 1,424 candidates are running for the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. These candidates raised $850.2 million, and spent $478.6 million. As of March 31, 2014, the combined debt was $66.9 million and cash-on-hand was $558.1 million.

Political Party Committees

Political Party Committees consist 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), National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), and each political party’s state and local committees, as well as other party committees.

The Democratic Party committees reported raising $249.6 million from individuals, while Republican committees received $209.2 million from individuals.

The Democratic House campaign committee transferred $14.1 million from its account to the national congressional party committee. Additionally, it transferred $2.4 million from its U.S. Senate campaign committee to its national senatorial party committee.

On the other hand, the Republican House campaign committee transferred $21.3 million to its national congressional party committee. The Republican U.S. Senate campaign committee transferred $626,400 to its national senatorial party committee.

Political Action Committees (PACs)

Between January 2013 and March 2014, there were 7,025 registered federal PACs. These committees disclosed raising $1.1 billion and spending $951.5 million. These PACs combined had cash-on-hand of $594.1 million.