About the chart

Note A

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.

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.

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.

Note B

Three dates

Source collection date

When After Citizens United retrieved the filings (UTC).

Reporting period

The dates a filer’s report covers.

Publication date

When After Citizens United published the dataset this site shows.

Note C

What “supports” and “opposes” mean

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.

On this chart they are marked like day-marks: a solid triangle for In favor (supports) and an open square for Against (opposes), so the difference never depends on colour alone. Parties appear as plain text.

▲ In favor □ Against

Note D

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, candidate (the subject), vendor (the payee), and recipient (for contributions).

Note E

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.

Note F

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, and spending reported after the collection date. Individual donors are not profiled.

The chart on the homepage is schematic and not to scale. Its soundings are decoration, and marker positions are not district boundaries.

Note G

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

Whether the filer reported that the communication supported or opposed the named candidate (shown here as In favor / Against). Not this site’s judgement.

Spender

The group that paid for the communication and reported it.

Vendor (payee)

The media buyer, printer or consultant the spender paid. The vendor is the payee, not the subject of the ad.

Recipient

For contributions, the committee that received the money.

Coverage

The period of filings After Citizens United has collected. Nothing found within it is “no record”, not $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 is 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.

Note I

About this guide

Maine Money Trail is published by After Citizens United. An independent public-interest guide. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or funded by the State of Maine 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.