What Is Outside Spending? Independent Expenditures, Explained

How independent expenditures, electioneering communications, disclosure, and coordination rules work in federal elections. The current 2026 cycle snapshot includes 1 high-spending committees from FEC records currently stored in GovOptes.

Spending outside a candidate's campaign

Outside spending is election-related activity paid for by people or organizations other than the candidate's authorized campaign. The legal category matters because independent expenditures and electioneering communications trigger different reporting rules.

Independence and disclosure

Independent expenditures expressly advocate for or against a candidate and cannot be coordinated with that candidate. Reports can identify the spender, amount, race, and position, while some funding paths still make the original source difficult to trace.