Candidate political contributions from Pennsylvania

CANDIDATE as occupation, Pennsylvania as donor state

The join is occupation CANDIDATE plus donor state PA. Matching rows sum to $1,443,873, 221 contributions, and 19 donors. The occupation hub is $16,508,299, 7,075 contributions, and 409 donors. Pennsylvania’s statewide page mixes every other occupation.

Pennsylvania’s dollar share is about 8.7% ($1,443,873 of $16,508,299). Its contribution share is about 3.1% (221 of 7,075). Its donor share is about 4.6% (19 of 409). Nineteen people produced a larger slice of dollars than of contributions, which is the signature of large average gifts.

A Missouri Candidate tie in this packet wave has its own $1,218,476 from 11 donors. Those dollars are not inside the Pennsylvania cell. The two joins share an occupation slug and split on donor state.

Why CANDIDATE is a treacherous occupation label

People running for office sometimes list CANDIDATE in the occupation box on their own contributions to their committees, on joint fundraising transfers, or on gifts to other committees. Other filers use the word loosely. FEC individual-contribution aggregates do not confirm ballot status. ATTORNEY, RETIRED, or a job title may appear on other receipts from the same person.

Four hundred nine national donors and 7,075 contributions show the label is used, but 409 is a small unique-person count next to occupations such as NURSE or SOCIAL WORKER. Pennsylvania’s 19 donors are a thin slice of that already-small list.

Nineteen Pennsylvania donors and large mean gifts

Dividing $1,443,873 by 221 contributions yields about $6,533 per gift. Dividing by 19 donors yields about $75,993 per donor. Nationally, $16,508,299 divided by 7,075 contributions is about $2,333 per gift. The Pennsylvania mean is much higher. A few large itemized gifts among 19 people can dominate the cell.

Donor state PA is the address on the receipt. Recipients need not be Pennsylvania committees. Candidate self-contributions, if they carry this occupation string and PA as donor state, sit in the $1,443,873; the aggregate does not isolate them.

Nineteen Pennsylvania donors produced 221 contributions, about 12 itemized gifts per person, versus about 17 nationally. The Pennsylvania CANDIDATE cell is not receipt-heavy. It is amount-heavy: about $6,533 per gift versus about $2,333 nationally. Self-contributions, if they carry this occupation string, can sit in that mean without being labeled as such on this page.

Do not treat this as a candidate roster

This page is not a directory of Pennsylvania federal candidates. It is itemized individual receipts whose occupation field matched CANDIDATE and whose donor state matched PA. Missing a person who ran for office is expected if that person typed another occupation. Including a person who never ran is possible if they typed CANDIDATE.

Coverage is itemized individual contributions from FEC.gov. Unitemized money and independent expenditures are out of scope. The 8.7% share is a table split, not causation, and not evidence that Pennsylvania races were funded by this occupation string.

Missouri’s Candidate join ($1,218,476, 11 donors) is the other CANDIDATE state cell in this packet wave. Pennsylvania’s 19 donors and Missouri’s 11 donors are disjoint on donor state. A person who moved and filed both PA and MO addresses across receipts could appear in both joins for different rows. The aggregates do not flag that.

Occupation hub, state hub, and the Missouri counterpart

Candidate donations carries the $16,508,299 national occupation total. Pennsylvania campaign finance carries all PA-coded itemized individual activity. All occupations and All FEC ties keep the Pennsylvania and Missouri Candidate joins as separate cells so $1,443,873 is not added to $1,218,476 as a combined ‘candidate’ region.

The occupation hub still holds $15,064,426 outside Pennsylvania ($16,508,299 minus $1,443,873). Use Candidate donations for that remainder. Do not read $1,443,873 as the cost of Pennsylvania’s federal races or as a list of people on Pennsylvania ballots.

Questions

How much have Candidate occupation donors in Pennsylvania given?

FEC itemized individual contributions from donors listing occupation Candidate and state Pennsylvania total $1,443,873, from 221 contributions and 19 donors. Nationwide, Candidate-coded receipts are $16,508,299 from 7,075 contributions and 409 donors. Pennsylvania is about 8.7% of those dollars.

Does Candidate mean people who ran for office in Pennsylvania?

CANDIDATE is the occupation text as entered on itemized filings. FEC aggregates do not verify ballot status. The 19 Pennsylvania donors and 409 national donors are people whose records used that label, not a certified candidate list.

Why is the average Candidate gift in Pennsylvania so large?

$1,443,873 divided by 221 contributions is about $6,533 per gift, versus about $2,333 nationally ($16,508,299 / 7,075). With only 19 donors, a few large itemized gifts—including possible self-contributions—can raise the mean. The mean is not a typical check.

Is this money given to Pennsylvania candidates?

Not necessarily. PA is the donor state on the contribution. The $1,443,873 can be received by any FEC-filing committee, including a donor’s own committee. This page does not break receipts by office or by in-state versus out-of-state committees.