Political Contributions

Political contributions have a profound effect on elections. The limitless contributions to and expenditures by Super PACs have empowered political committees to exert significant influence over perceptions of policy, candidates, and countless social issues. It is important to keep an open mind, searching for the facts behind the scenes of a vast political/financial network.

OpenSecrets is a nonpartisan, independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to tracking money in U.S. politics. FollowTheMoney.org describes how OpenSecrets combined the efforts of two earlier organizations: the National Institute on Money in Politics and the Center for Responsive Politics.

Researchers associated with Data Science Quarterly had a purpose similar to OpenSecrets when developing the DSQ-FEC website in 2022. This site focused on public filings with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).

The research challenge is to work with public data, process those data, show relationships between contributors and political action committees, and identify political contributions earmarked in support of or in opposition to candidates for federal elections.

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