New Jersey donors sent $1.46B; candidates reported $86.1M

A donor state with a smaller candidate book

One hundred seventy thousand three hundred fifty-eight New Jersey donors and $1.46 billion in contributions put the state in the top tier of FEC donor books, ahead of several larger states by population in this extract. The $86.1 million candidate-receipt total does not contradict that. New Jersey contributors fund national PACs, Super PACs, party committees, and campaigns in other states. Those gifts stay in the donor aggregate and do not have to land in a New Jersey candidate committee.

Treating $1.46 billion as “what New Jersey campaigns raised” would overstate the candidate series by more than a billion dollars. Treating $86.1 million as “all New Jersey political money” would hide the outbound donor flow. Both mistakes are avoided by citing the two FEC series as two FEC series.

Keep $86.1 million and $1.46 billion on separate lines when citing New Jersey. Adding them double-counts gifts that New Jersey donors made to New Jersey candidate committees. Subtracting them hides the outbound PAC flow. The honest citation is two FEC series for cycle 2026.

Democratic committees hold $65.8 million of $86.1 million

Democratic candidate receipts are 76.4% of the New Jersey candidate total. Republican receipts of $20.2 million are 23.5%. Other-party receipts are $83,425 (0.1%). The split is a party-code roll-up of 1,558 federal candidate committees, not a description of the 170,358 donors.

A large New Jersey Senate or House committee can move the $86.1 million without moving the $1.46 billion. A large Senate committee’s receipts sit in the candidate book. A large Super PAC gift from a New Jersey address sits in the donor book. The PAC and Super PAC directories are the right next tables for the second case.

Cycle 2026 is open. An amended candidate report moves $86.1 million and the party split. A restated individual file moves $1.46 billion and 170,358. The New Jersey FEC totals page is the live view. This guide’s printed figures are a snapshot of FEC.gov aggregates indexed on LobbyVault.

1,558 filers

The candidate count of 1,558 is high relative to the $86.1 million receipt total. Many of those committees are House primary filers or residual committees with little cash. FEC candidate status codes live on the underlying records. This summary does not drop them from the roster; if they are in the FEC candidate file with a New Jersey association, they are in the 1,558.

Independent expenditures that mention a New Jersey candidate are outside the $86.1 million. Those amounts, when disclosed, belong to the committee that paid for them.

State ELEC filings are not in these totals

New Jersey state-office campaigns file with the Election Law Enforcement Commission. Those reports are not in the $86.1 million or the $1.46 billion. This page is federal 2026-cycle data from FEC.gov.

New Jersey FEC totals

The New Jersey FEC totals page is the live table. Candidate, PAC, and Super PAC directories share the same FEC.gov backbone. Numbers on this guide are the packet facts: 1,558 candidates, $86.1 million raised, $65.8 million Democratic, $20.2 million Republican, $83,425 other, $1.46 billion donated, 170,358 donors.

New Jersey as a donor address, not just a candidate book

The $1.46 billion individual contribution total from 170,358 New Jersey contributors is the number that answers “how much federal political money is tied to New Jersey addresses.” The $86.1 million candidate-receipt total from 1,558 committees is the number that answers “how much New Jersey-tagged campaigns booked.” Using either number for the other question is a category error. FEC.gov stores the two series in different files. LobbyVault prints both on the NJ hub.

Most of $1.46 billion did not land in the 1,558 candidate committees. It landed in PACs, Super PACs, party committees, and campaigns that file in other states. The PAC directory and Super PAC tracker are therefore not sidebars on a New Jersey page. They are where a large share of $1.46 billion went. Independent expenditures that mention a New Jersey candidate can still be financed by donors outside New Jersey and would not appear in either New Jersey total.

Party splits on the candidate book — Democratic $65.8 million (76.4%), Republican $20.2 million (23.5%), other $83,425 (0.1%) — do not describe the 170,358 donors. Individual contribution rows do not carry a donor party field in this aggregate. A New Jersey address on a Super PAC gift is a New Jersey donor dollar, not a Democratic or Republican donor dollar.

Every dollar figure on this New Jersey guide is a 2026-cycle snapshot from FEC.gov aggregates indexed on LobbyVault. Committees still file. Refunds and redesignations still post. The 1,558-committee inventory can lengthen. $86.1 million can rise or fall. $1.46 billion from 170,358 donors can move when the individual contribution extract is rebuilt.

State-office campaigns in New Jersey file under state law, not with the FEC. Those reports are outside $86.1 million and outside $1.46 billion. Mixing federal and state disclosure systems produces a total that no agency published. This page stays on FEC.gov.

The live New Jersey table is the place to look after an amendment. Candidate, PAC, and Super PAC directories open the same bulk data. This prose will not silently rewrite $86.1 million or $1.46 billion after you load the page.

Questions

How much have New Jersey federal candidates raised in 2026?

New Jersey-associated federal candidate committees reported $86.1 million in receipts across 1,558 filers. Democratic committees reported $65.8 million and Republican committees reported $20.2 million, per FEC.gov aggregates on LobbyVault.

How much federal political money comes from New Jersey donors?

Individual contribution aggregates show $1.46 billion from 170,358 New Jersey donors. That series includes gifts to national PACs and out-of-state campaigns and is separate from the $86.1 million in candidate receipts.

Why is New Jersey donor money so much larger than candidate receipts?

Donor totals count money originating from New Jersey contributors regardless of the recipient. Candidate receipts count only what New Jersey-tagged candidate committees reported. A New Jersey donor funding a Super PAC still appears in the $1.46 billion figure.

Does this include New Jersey state elections?

No. These figures are FEC.gov federal data. New Jersey ELEC filings for state offices are not part of the $86.1 million or $1.46 billion.