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Lobbyist money in federal elections

People who wrote LOBBYIST in the employer or occupation field on federal campaign filings account for $4,325,023 in itemized receipts on FEC.gov. LobbyVault counts 9,380 contributions and 316 donors. Mean gift size is about $461; mean per donor is about $13,687. The title is a self-report on a contribution form. It is not LDA lobbying spend, not a NAICS government-relations code, and not a client’s political budget.

Key figures

  • LOBBYIST FEC strings sum to $4,325,023.
  • 9,380 contributions came from 316 donors.
  • About $461 per gift and $13,687 per donor on a simple mean.
  • The total is FEC gifts, not LDA lobbying spend.
  • POLITICAL CONSULTANT is a separate string cluster.

316 donors and $4,325,023

Three hundred sixteen unique people produced 9,380 contributions, about 30 itemized gifts per person. $4,325,023 ÷ 316 ≈ $13,687 per donor. Top employer is LOBBYIST, so many filers put the title in the employer box rather than a firm name. K Street shop names, trade associations, and in-house government-relations titles sit on other slugs if typed instead.

LDA registrations and FEC contribution records are different disclosure systems. This $4,325,023 is FEC itemized receipts tagged to the word LOBBYIST. It is not a sum of reported lobbying income.

Keep this string apart from political consultant

POLITICAL CONSULTANT is a neighboring industry key with its own packet and total. The facts here do not identify people who used both labels across filings. Adding the two string totals would double-count an unknown share. This page stays at $4,325,023, 9,380 contributions, and 316 donors.

Industry labels come from FEC employer/occupation self-reports, not NAICS. Occupation breakdowns are the companion title index.

What 9,380 contributions omit

No client list, no issue area, no party of recipients, no cycle year. Recipients of these itemized gifts are on FEC.gov and on the LOBBYIST donor table.

Unique-donor count (316) is matching text, not a census of registered lobbyists.

Boundaries

This page does not treat $4,325,023 as money lobbyists spent on behalf of clients. It is money tagged to people who listed LOBBYIST on contribution records. Motive and influence are not in the facts.

All industries lists firm-name employers. Occupation breakdowns list related titles.

Source

Industry LOBBYIST; $4,325,023; 9,380 contributions; 316 donors; top employer LOBBYIST. Data from FEC.gov via LobbyVault.

Open the LOBBYIST donor table for 316 unique donors, 9,380 itemized contributions, and $4,325,023. Unitemized gifts are omitted. LDA registrations and FEC contribution records are different disclosure systems; this total is FEC itemized receipts tagged to the word LOBBYIST, not a sum of reported lobbying income. K Street shop names and in-house government-relations titles sit on other slugs if typed instead. POLITICAL CONSULTANT is a separate key; do not add the two string totals. Occupation breakdowns list related titles. All industries lists firm-name employers. Industry labels come from FEC employer/occupation self-reports, not NAICS. Data from FEC.gov via LobbyVault. About 30 itemized gifts per person and a mean gift near $461 are arithmetic on the packet. Per-donor mean about $13,687 uses total divided by 316 people. This page does not treat $4,325,023 as money lobbyists spent on behalf of clients. The packet has no client list and no issue area. The 316-donor count is matching text, not a census of LDA registrants. Cite FEC.gov via LobbyVault.

FEC title gifts versus LDA lobbying expenditures

LOBBYIST keyed $4,325,023 from 9,380 contributions and 316 donors. About 30 itemized gifts per person and a mean gift near $461 are arithmetic on the packet. Per-donor mean about $13,687 uses total divided by unique donors. Unitemized gifts are omitted. LDA registrations and FEC contribution records are different disclosure systems; $4,325,023 is FEC itemized receipts tagged to the word LOBBYIST, not a sum of reported lobbying income. K Street shop names, trade associations, and in-house government-relations titles sit on other slugs if typed instead. POLITICAL CONSULTANT is a separate key; do not add the two string totals. The 316 unique donors are matching text, not a census of LDA registrants. Top employer matches LOBBYIST.

Open the LOBBYIST donor table for names and committees. All industries lists firm-name employers. Occupation breakdowns list related titles. Industry labels come from FEC employer/occupation self-reports, not NAICS. Data from FEC.gov via LobbyVault. This page does not treat $4,325,023 as money lobbyists spent on behalf of clients. The packet has no cycle year, no client list, and no issue area. Amendments can revise historical amounts. The four facts remain $4,325,023, 9,380 contributions, 316 donors, and top employer LOBBYIST. People who sometimes wrote political consultant on other filings are not identified in these facts. Cite FEC.gov for the contribution string only. Repeat the four facts when citing this page: $4,325,023, 9,380 contributions, 316 donors, top employer LOBBYIST. Unitemized gifts remain omitted. The donor table, all industries, and occupation breakdowns are the only internal links this packet authorizes.

Questions

How much have lobbyist-labeled filers given federally?
The LOBBYIST industry cluster totals $4,325,023 in itemized FEC contributions, from 9,380 contributions and 316 donors. Filers wrote LOBBYIST in employer or occupation. The figure is their disclosed gifts on FEC.gov, not LDA lobbying expenditures. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.
Is this the same as lobbying disclosure totals?
No. Lobbying reports under the LDA are a different dataset. This page sums $4,325,023 in FEC itemized contributions tagged to the LOBBYIST self-report string. It does not measure fees billed to clients. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.
Should I add political consultant donations to this total?
No. POLITICAL CONSULTANT is a separate industry key. The packets do not identify overlapping donors. This page’s facts are $4,325,023, 9,380 contributions, and 316 donors for LOBBYIST only. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.
How many unique lobbyist-labeled donors are there?
LobbyVault counts 316 donors and 9,380 contributions. Unique-donor count is matching disclosure text, not a count of LDA registrants. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.

Industry labels come from FEC employer/occupation self-reports, not NAICS. Data from FEC.gov via LobbyVault.