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CANDIDATE

Total Donated

$16,508,299

Contributions

7,075

Unique Donors

409

Contributors who listed CANDIDATE as occupation posted $16,508,299 in itemized federal receipts in LobbyVault’s FEC.gov bulk index. Those dollars sit on 7,075 contributions from 409 donor records. CANDIDATE is a status label used as occupation text, not a count of people on the ballot and not a party split. In compact millions the occupation total is $16.5 million.

Key figures

  • CANDIDATE occupation itemizations sum to $16,508,299 from 7,075 contributions and 409 donors.
  • Mean dollars per donor record are about $40,363 on a 409-record pool; that mean is not a typical gift.
  • The string is occupation text, not a substitute for FEC candidate master files.
  • The packet does not identify self-funding versus gifts to other committees.

Tiny pool, very large mean per donor record

$16,508,299 is the occupation-level dollar total. 7,075 is the itemization count. 409 is the donor-record count. Mean contribution size is about $2,334. Mean dollars per donor record are about $40,363. Repeat giving is about 17 itemizations per donor record.

409 donor records is among the smallest pools in this harvest band. The per-donor mean of about $40,363 is an arithmetic result on that small set; it is not a typical household gift and not a statement that every candidate self-funded at that level.

The packet does not name committees, cycles, or whether lines are candidate-to-own-campaign transfers. It only supplies the three CANDIDATE facts.

CANDIDATE is an occupation string, not a ballot file

FEC candidate master files are a different table. This page cites occupation text CANDIDATE: $16,508,299, 7,075 contributions, and 409 donors. People who listed politician, officeholder, or elected official stay outside the total unless the bulk extract normalized those words to CANDIDATE.

Best-efforts collection records the donor’s word. A person running for office, a person who once ran, and a staffer who typed CANDIDATE in error can all appear. Occupation is per transaction.

Full analysis: What CANDIDATE donors give in federal races →

Questions

How much have CANDIDATE donors given in FEC records?
Occupation CANDIDATE is attached to $16,508,299 in LobbyVault’s FEC bulk index, from 7,075 contributions and 409 donor records. The total is itemized occupation money, not a ballot-file census. Occupation is self-reported free text on FEC Form 3 and Form 3X schedules. Unitemized receipts never enter this occupation total.
Is this total all candidate self-funding?
The packet does not say. It only records occupation text CANDIDATE: $16,508,299, 7,075 contributions, and 409 donors. Candidate committee pages hold the recipient side. Occupation is self-reported free text on FEC Form 3 and Form 3X schedules. Unitemized receipts never enter this occupation total.
Why is the mean per donor so high?
Dividing $16,508,299 by 409 donor records yields about $40,363. That is an arithmetic mean on a 409-record pool, not a typical household gift. Mean line size is about $2,334. Occupation is self-reported free text on FEC Form 3 and Form 3X schedules. Unitemized receipts never enter this occupation total.
Does listing CANDIDATE prove the donor was on a ballot?
No. Occupation is self-reported free text. The FEC occupation field is not a candidate master extract. Quote 7,075 contributions and 409 donor records with the $16,508,299 total. Occupation is self-reported free text on FEC Form 3 and Form 3X schedules. Unitemized receipts never enter this occupation total.

Occupation is self-reported on FEC Form 3/3X itemizations. Indexed on LobbyVault from FEC bulk data.

Occupation × state ties

All data ties →