How This Almanac Is Made

i. Where the numbers come from

The figures come from reports filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). After Citizens United collects those filings, checks them and publishes them with a link to each source record.

This site embeds After Citizens United’s evidence cards rather than copying the numbers, so each card shows the current publication.

Filing records are not a certified ballot. Cards can include candidates from earlier stages of the cycle. Use the state election office for current ballot and district information.

Election scope and the November 3, 2026 general-election date: FEC election calendar. House seat directory: U.S. House of Representatives. These sources do not establish complete finance coverage.

ii. Three dates

Every figure in this almanac has three dates behind it, and they are kept apart.

Source collection date

When After Citizens United retrieved the filings, given in UTC.

Reporting period

The dates a filer’s report covers.

Publication date

When After Citizens United published the dataset this site shows.

Candidate (the subject)

The candidate the communication was about.

iii. What “supports” and “opposes” mean

Outside spending. A group can report spending money on communications (ads, mail, digital messages) that support or oppose a federal candidate, without coordinating with the campaign. These independent expenditures are reported to the FEC. The candidate does not receive this money.

Supports and opposes. Each independent expenditure report says whether the communication supported or opposed the named candidate. “Supports” and “Opposes” repeat what the filer reported; they are not this site’s judgement.

☞ Supports a pointing hand to the right, with a solid underline ☜ Opposes a pointing hand to the left, with a dotted underline

Candidates and parties are always set in the same plain ink, whatever the filer reported.

iv. Spending is not receiving

Three different things:

• A contribution is money given to a candidate’s campaign committee. A contribution to a committee is not necessarily a payment to the person.
• Outside spending is paid for by the group and goes to the vendors who make and place the ads.
• A vendor payment is that payment to a media buyer, printer or consultant. The vendor is the payee, not the subject of the ad.

The roles stay separate:

Spender

The group that paid for the communication and reported it.

Vendor (the payee)

The business paid to make or place the communication.

Recipient

For contributions, the committee that received the money.

v. No record is not zero

“No record found within current coverage” means no filing was found in the period After Citizens United has collected. It is not the same as $0.

Filings submitted after the collection date, or not yet processed, will not appear.

vi. What this guide leaves out

• Communications that do not have to be reported to the FEC, such as many issue ads.
• State and local races.
• Lobbying.
• Spending reported after the collection date.

Individual donors are not profiled.

vii. Glossary

Contribution

Money given to a candidate’s campaign committee. A contribution to a committee is not necessarily a payment to the person.

Independent expenditure (outside spending)

Money a group reports spending on communications that support or oppose a federal candidate, without coordinating with the campaign. The candidate does not receive this money.

Supports / Opposes

What the filer reported about whether a communication supported or opposed the named candidate. Not this site’s judgement.

Spender

The group that paid for a communication and reported the spending.

Vendor (payee)

The media buyer, printer or consultant paid to make or place a communication. The vendor is the payee, not the subject of the ad.

Recipient

For a contribution, the campaign committee that received the money.

Coverage

The period of filings After Citizens United has collected. Finding no record within it is not the same as $0.

Reporting period

The dates a filer’s report covers.

Publication

The dataset After Citizens United published and this site shows; its publication date is when it was published.

Candidate (subject)

The candidate a communication was about.

Corrections & contact

Send a correction to After Citizens United. Include this site’s name, the page URL, the item in question and a link to the official filing or election source. Do not include private addresses or credentials.

Evidence-card figures change when After Citizens United publishes corrected data. Corrections to this guide’s own explanations are reviewed separately.

ix. About this guide

The Iowa Money Trail is compiled by After Citizens United. It is an independent public-interest guide, not affiliated with, endorsed by or funded by the State of Iowa or any government agency.

This guide connects readers to reported federal campaign-finance evidence from After Citizens United. Coverage is partial and changes with the publication.

Privacy and embedded evidence

Pages and fonts are served by this site. Loading an evidence card contacts After Citizens United, which receives network information needed to serve it. The card links to its sources and privacy policy. Cloudflare hosts these pages.

This guide does not ask for your address or store a district lookup. Official election services and the corrections form are separate websites.