Number of political action committees

A political action committee (PAC) is a political committee "organized for the purpose of raising and spending money to elect and defeat candidates." According to the Center for Responsive Politics, "most PACs represent business, labor or ideological interests." The first PAC was formed by the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1944.

The table below details how many and what kind of political action committees making contributions to congressional candidates were registered from 1990 to 2024.

Number of PACs making contributions to congressional candidates, 1990-2024
Year	Type of PAC
	Corporate	Labor	Trade	Membership	Cooperative	Corporations without stock	Non-connected	Total
2024	1,677	265	722	317	49	81	6,122	9,233
2022	1,655	271	720	309	47	86	6,183	9,271
2020	1,669	275	726	225	46	94	5,820	8,855
2018	1,732	279	746	215	46	103	5,542	8,663
2016	1,803	289	736	237	42	104	5,455	8,666
2014	1,804	288	722	245	41	114	4,334	7,548
2012	1,851	300	724	269	41	118	4,008	7,311
2010	1,816	311	747	355	40	121	2,122	5,512
2008	1,794	299	765	363	44	114	1,841	5,220
2006	1,808	312	1,011	72	37	115	1,657	5,012
2004	1,757	329	985	83	38	110	1,562	4,864
2002	1,743	337	958	112	41	117	1,265	4,573
2000	1,726	350	900	128	41	120	1,231	4,496
1998	1,824	352	922	161	45	133	1,156	4,593
1996	1,838	358	896	172	45	134	1,075	4,518
1994	1,160	196	455	161	29	114	984	3,099
1992	1,140	185	413	190	33	114	992	3,067
1990	1,098	166	360	230	31	107	877	2,869
Source: Federal Election Commission, "Political action committee data summary tables: PAC Financial Activity," accessed May 27, 2025

See also

• Campaign finance
• Political action committee
• Super PAC

External links

• Campaign Finance Institute

Footnotes

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