Campaign Finance Analysis

Follow the MoneyWhere His Campaign Cash Really Comes From

An analysis of Federal Election Commission filings reveals where Alabama's 2nd District congressman gets his campaign money — and it's not from Alabama.

89.4%
Not From Alabama
$252K
From DC
74.4%
From PACs
$40,145
From AL Citizens

Four Facts That Tell the Whole Story

Out-of-State Money

$637,469

89.4% of all funds come from outside Alabama. Washington DC alone provides $252,216 — nearly a third of every dollar raised.

PAC Money vs. People

74.4%

Nearly three-quarters of all funds come from Political Action Committees. Only 16.6% comes from individual citizens anywhere — and only 5.1% from Alabama individuals.

Alabama Citizens

$40,145

Total from individual Alabama citizens — 50 donors, 180 contributions. That's less than many local school board campaigns raise.

Small Dollar Donors

9.2%

Grassroots donors under $200 account for $72,803 of $792,769 in total receipts. $108,459 of that flows through ActBlue — an online conduit processing donations from anywhere.

Where the Money Comes From$721,114 Itemized
DC 35%
AL 11.6%
VA 10.6%
Online Conduit 15%
Other States

DC and Virginia combined: $328,316 — nearly 4 times what Alabama contributed. Note: $108,459 routed through ActBlue (Somerville, MA) is shown separately as "Online Conduit" since its address of record doesn't reflect the state of the actual donors.

Top 10 Donor States

Washington DC alone contributed more than three times what Alabama did. The top three non-Alabama states combined gave nearly five times Alabama's total.

StateAmount% of ItemizedContributions
Washington, DC$252,21641.2%173
Alabama$83,64513.7%193
Virginia$76,10012.4%57
Georgia$31,4005.1%29
Maryland$24,1003.9%27
Texas$22,6753.7%29
California$16,8522.7%15
Illinois$11,6501.9%12
Tennessee$10,2501.7%4
New York$10,2181.7%15

ActBlue ($108,459) excluded from state rankings. ActBlue is an online fundraising conduit based in Somerville, MA — its address of record does not reflect where the actual donors live. Listed separately in the donor bar above as "Online Conduit."

Alabama Geography

Mobile is the only major AL-02 city in the top four. Birmingham — which is not in District 2 — ranks fourth among Alabama individual donations.

CityAmount% of AL TotalIn District 2?
Mobile$10,36125.8%Yes
Seale$7,00017.4%Yes
Vestavia$4,30010.7%No
Birmingham$4,12510.3%No
Atmore$3,5008.7%Yes
Montgomery$1,8754.7%Yes
Rest of AL$8,98422.4%Mixed

Top PACs & Special Interests

ActBlue alone accounts for more than $108,000 — four times the next largest PAC. Labor unions, partisan funds, and leadership PACs round out the top tier.

PAC NameAmountType
ActBlue (online conduit)$108,459Conduit / Online
New Democrat Coalition Action Fund$10,500Partisan
Regions Financial Corporation PAC$10,000Banking
Jobs Education & Families First (JEFF PAC)$10,000Leadership
AFSCME$10,000Labor
Sapphire Strategies$8,593Consulting / PAC
Democracy Engine PAC$8,500Conduit
SMART (Sheet Metal Workers)$7,500Labor
AFLAC PAC$7,500Insurance
Fair Shot PAC$7,000Leadership
CRH Americas PAC$7,000Construction
Farm Credit Council PAC$6,500Agriculture

Top Individual Donors

NameLocationAmountNotes
Liz SimonsAtherton, CA$7,000Silicon Valley tech heiress
John ArnoldHouston, TX$3,500Billionaire hedge fund manager
Keith FrakesSeale, AL$3,500Top Alabama individual donor
Janie GreeneSeale, AL$3,500Tied for top Alabama individual donor
Poarch Band of Creek IndiansAtmore, AL$3,500Tribal gaming — also a PAC donor
William HouseVestavia, AL$3,300Alabama individual donor
Lonnie JohnsonAtlanta, GA$2,000Out of state
Christopher SmithAlexandria, VA$2,000DC-area donor

For every $1 from an Alabama citizen,
he takes nearly $15 from PACs
and nearly $16 from out-of-state donors.

Alabama deserves a representative who answers to constituents, not corporate PACs and coastal elites.

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