Lobbyist donations in the 2008 FEC cycle

Lobbyist as occupation, 2008 as the cycle

Two FEC fields define the cell: occupation LOBBYIST and election cycle 2008. Matching rows sum to $1,220,193, 1,627 contributions, and 652 donors. 2008 is an earlier presidential-year Lobbyist cell on the same occupation string. The occupation hub rolls every cycle that used this spelling. The 2008 election-cycle hub rolls every occupation that filed that cycle. Neither hub restates this intersection; this tie page exists because the two dimensions meet.

Lobbyist is a one-word advocacy-or-government-affairs title as typed. Nearby strings — GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, CONSULTANT, GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, and ADVOCATE — sit in other occupation hubs when filers used those words. Do not stack those dollar figures onto $1,220,193 or $15,512,853. A registered lobbyist who typed Consultant is outside LOBBYIST; a non-registrant who typed Lobbyist is in it.

2008’s dollar share is 7.9% ($1,220,193 of $15,512,853). The remainder sits in other cycles on the occupation hub and is not itemized by year on this packet. Correlation between a job title and a two-year FEC window is a reporting overlap, not causation of an election outcome. Itemized individual receipts are the coverage. Unitemized money never appears in $1,220,193.

The Lobbyist string across cycles

Under the exact label LOBBYIST, harvested individual contributions sum to $15.5 million ($15,512,853). The 2008 cell is 7.9% of that occupation total. The FEC file does not verify an LDA registration or a state lobbyist license. A share in a presidential cycle is a slice, not proof that the remaining dollars sat in any particular other year. Those other years are not in this packet.

Lobbyist is not a Senate LDA dollar total and not a K Street firm census. Open Lobbyist donations for the $15,512,853 roll. Open the 2008 election cycle hub for every occupation in that window. All occupations and All FEC ties place this pair beside other occupation-cycle pages without combining dollar figures.

2008 receipts and donors

Inside the 2008 cell, 1,627 itemized contributions map to 652 donors. That is about 2.5 receipts per donor in the join — a repeat-gift ratio, not a unique-person survey of everyone who holds a similar job. Dollars per receipt average about $750; dollars per donor average about $1,871. Averages hide large and small lines sitting in the same total.

Presidential-year volume can mix primary, general, and other receipts dated to 2008. This packet does not split $1,220,193 by those stages or by party. The 2008 election cycle hub shows the cycle’s full occupation mix; this page shows only the Lobbyist row. 652 donors is a disclosure count for this key in 2008, not a turnout figure.

How to read the two dollar columns

Keep $1,220,193 attached to 2008 and $15,512,853 attached to the occupation string. Adding them would double-count the 2008 dollars that already sit inside the occupation total. Subtracting them does not yield “all other cycles”; it only yields a remainder that this packet does not itemize by year.

Cite FEC.gov. Individual contributions are not PAC independent expenditures and not lobbying registrations. Nothing in the join says donations paid for a federal award, a research grant, or a USAspending obligation. Quote $1,220,193 with both nouns: Lobbyist and 2008.

What the Lobbyist–2008 join does not claim

Occupation labels are filer-entered. Lobbyist is not a Senate LDA dollar total and not a K Street firm census. A person who wrote a nearby title is not in $1.2 million. A person who wrote this string is in it even if the day job differs. LobbyVault does not audit licenses. The public record is the string plus the dollars.

No motive, no vote, no ranking of occupations. Not an LDA registrant list, not a lobbying-disclosure dollar total, and not a firm PAC. Use All occupations to compare other labels; use All FEC ties for other joins. 1,627 receipts and 652 donors are the volume facts for this join.

Questions

How much did lobbyists donate in 2008?

Filers who wrote Lobbyist on FEC individual contribution records itemized $1,220,193 in the 2008 cycle, across 1,627 receipts from 652 donors. That cell is 7.9% of $15,512,853 harvested under the same exact occupation string. Nearby spellings are counted on other occupation pages.

Is a Lobbyist occupation the same as an LDA registration?

No. Lobbyist on an FEC receipt is not the same object as a Lobbying Disclosure Act registration. Different statutes, different forms. Government Affairs and Consultant are other occupation keys. This page does not merge LDA filings into the FEC occupation cell.

What is an occupation-cycle join on LobbyVault?

It is the overlap of one self-reported occupation key and one even-numbered FEC cycle. The occupation hub holds $15.5 million for this string across cycles. The cycle hub holds every occupation that filed in 2008. This page reports only the overlapping cell, $1.2 million, so the two dimensions are not restated as one table.

Does the 2008 Lobbyist total include PACs or party committees?

$1,220,193 is an aggregate of individual contributions whose occupation field matches this string. It is not PAC independent spending, not committee-to-committee transfers, and not a party split. This packet has no party field. Open the Lobbyist donations hub or the 2008 election cycle hub for committee-level rows.