WASHINGTON, D.C. — Mayank Kejriwal and a research colleague analyzed campaign contributions exchanged among U.S. House members from 2009 to 2022 using Federal Election Commission (FEC) data. The study examined giving patterns across seven election cycles.

Internal campaign giving among House members is legal, common, and publicly reportable. Members provide campaign funds to fellow members of their own party. Senior members and party leaders are more likely to be givers than receivers of these internal contributions, and House members facing pressure from outside spending are more likely to receive support from colleagues.

Democrats and Republicans organize internal campaign contributions differently. In the study, leadership roles included the speaker, party leaders, whips, caucus or conference chairs, and committee chairs or ranking members. Across the analyzed election cycles, about 79% of Democratic leaders gave to at least one fellow House member, compared to approximately 71% of Republican leaders. Additionally, 65% of non-leader Democrats gave to at least one fellow House member, while 58% of non-leader Republicans did so.

During the 2021-22 election cycle, Hakeem Jeffries gave to 76 fellow House members, and Nancy Pelosi gave to 61. For Republicans in the same cycle, Steve Scalise gave to 192 fellow House members, and Jason Smith gave to 100. Longer-serving Democratic members were more likely to give and less likely to receive internal campaign contributions.

Democratic contribution networks remained relatively stable from 2009 to 2022, with money flowing repeatedly through a smaller set of members. Conversely, Republican contribution networks showed more change over this period. Early in the study, Republican money flows were more centralized but later became less concentrated on a small core of recipients, increasing within smaller connected groups.

House members targeted by more super PAC activity were more likely to receive contributions from fellow party members. These same members were less likely to contribute to other members themselves. For example, in the 2020 election cycle, outside spending in Representative David Valadao's California House race reached approximately $7.36 million.