The money behind the politics: Tracking campaign finance data for Pa. candidates

More and more money is flowing into political campaigns, from races for state judges and legislators up to U.S. president.

Candidates mainly use the funds to buy advertisements on television, as part of a strategy to persuade as many people as possible to turn out and vote for them.

But while candidates are using money from donors to tell their stories to would-be voters, the source of those dollars can tell a story about the candidates, too.

Looking at contributions and amounts can help voters learn about a candidate’s political bedfellows and their priorities, according to Robin Kolodny, a political science professor at Philadelphia's Temple University.

Following the ideology of major donors could give voters insights into the ideology of the candidates, she said. As for candidate priorities, it’s unlikely money could change a candidate’s truly held beliefs, but it may encourage them to pursue certain projects sooner or more aggressively than others.

Being able to track donors’ potential influence is why it’s so important to have transparency, according to Brendan Glavin, a deputy research director at OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that makes campaign finance data easier to follow.

“People really need to know where this money is coming from,” Glavin said.

From most to least transparent

Just as candidates run for different levels of offices, they are also subject to different levels of scrutiny.

The federal government has more resources than states or local governments to collect data and enforce campaign regulations.

The Federal Election Commission has a site where anyone can search contributions to campaigns for federal offices, like the presidency or Congress. The Pennsylvania Department of State has a search tool built with older technology to research donations in state-level races. At the local level, it’s up to cities and counties to decide how to make that data available to the public.

“When you go down the various levels of government, from the FEC down to state level down to local level, it just gets harder and harder,” said Stephen Medvic, a political science professor at Franklin and Marshall College.

Pittsburgh has a searchable database, and Montgomery County scans and catalogs finance reports. Most counties keep the records on paper in a filing cabinet, though they are available for public viewing.

“It’s very, very difficult for individual citizens to track that,” Medvic said. “So we really have to rely either on good government groups that keep track of this sort of thing or, obviously, journalists.”

How to keep tabs on a politician’s tab

The United States likely has the most transparency around campaign financing in the world, according to Kolodny. That’s even with organizations that support candidates but don’t have to disclose who their donors are. The practice is commonly called “dark money.”

The country also runs some of the world's most expensive campaigns.

In addition to government-run websites, groups like the nonpartisan OpenSecrets help monitor money going into campaigns.

The site aggregates federal data and draws connections, allowing users to look up federal candidates and officeholders, donors or outside spending. It also operates a site for tracking candidates and officeholders at the state level, called FollowTheMoney. For people who are very curious about money in politics, OpenSecrets created a tipsheet to help with investigations.

It’s important for people not to jump to conclusions when looking at contributions, Kolodny said.

A person may see a contribution by a local business to a candidate, but that doesn’t necessarily describe the business’ political affiliation. Large employers tend to give money to incumbent candidates in the local area, she said, and that often happens without partisan consideration.

Looking at donations by partisan groups might be more useful to the average, and especially, the undecided voter.

Voters can also compare how much money is coming from small-dollar donations versus major donors or Political Action Committees. The amount of money in a race is also an indication of both how competitive the election will be and how important the seat is.

But for all the money in U.S. elections, money is not political destiny.

“Nothing will counter a well-orchestrated grassroots movement,” Kolodny said.

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This story is part of an explanatory series focused on Pennsylvania elections produced collaboratively by WITF in Harrisburg and The Associated Press.

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The AP receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here.