FEC Reports Billions in 2025-26 Campaign Receipts as 2026 Elections Approach
Congressional candidates, political parties and political action committees moved billions of dollars through the federal campaign system during the first 15 months of the 2025-26 election cycle, according to a Federal Election Commission statistical summary released July 9, 2026.
The FEC reported that congressional candidates collected $2.1 billion and disbursed $1.3 billion during the period. Political parties received $1.1 billion and spent $824.8 million. PACs reported the largest totals among the groups covered by the summary, with $6.3 billion in receipts and $4.8 billion in spending.
The figures offer a current measure of campaign-finance activity as the 2026 elections approach. They are not a single pool of money: the FEC reports candidate, party and PAC activity separately, and receipts and disbursements are different measures.
What the FEC counted
The candidate figures cover congressional campaigns. The party figures cover political party committees, while the FEC’s summary also includes political action committees participating in U.S. federal elections.
For candidates, the $2.1 billion figure represents money collected during the reporting period, while the $1.3 billion figure represents disbursements. The party committees reported $1.1 billion in receipts and $824.8 million in spending.
PAC receipts totaled $6.3 billion, compared with $4.8 billion in PAC spending. Those numbers should not be read as though all of the receipts were spent during the same period or as though the money was raised for one candidate or party. They describe separate financial activity reported by committees in the federal political system.
Because the summary covers the first 15 months of the 2025-26 cycle, it provides a defined-period snapshot rather than a final accounting for the elections. Future reports will add activity from later months and allow voters, campaigns and political organizations to track how the totals change.
Supreme Court ruling adds legal context
The FEC’s update also reported a June 30, 2026, Supreme Court decision in NRSC v. FEC. According to the commission, the court held limits on coordinated expenditures by political parties unconstitutional.
Coordinated expenditures are party spending made in coordination with a candidate or campaign. The ruling concerns limits on that type of party spending, placing a legal development alongside the financial figures released for the election cycle.
The practical consequences of the decision will depend on subsequent FEC guidance and litigation. Future campaign-finance filings will show how party committees and other political organizations report activity as the cycle continues.
Next reporting deadline
The next monthly report for PACs and political parties is due Aug. 20, 2026. The report will close the books on activity through July 31.
That filing will provide the next scheduled update for PAC and party receipts and spending after the FEC’s 15-month summary. It will give the public a newer view of political-finance activity as candidates, parties and PACs continue preparing for the 2026 elections.
The FEC’s figures establish the scale of activity reported so far, while the upcoming filing will add another month of financial data and help clarify how fundraising and spending are developing across the federal campaign system.
Sources
- FEC latest updates and Statistical Summary of 15-Month Campaign Activity, Federal Election Commission
- August Monthly Report notice for PACs and parties, Federal Election Commission
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