Skip to content
Hugin

2026 candidate · follow the money

Who funds Denise Powell?

Nebraska U.S. House District 2DemocratFiled for an open seatFEC H6NE02174
Compare the whole race →Results in Nebraska ↗Search Hugin records ↗FEC filing ↗

The money.

Denise PowellFEC filing: Denise Powell · H6NE02174 ↗
Raised
$4.7M
Spent
$4.6M
Cash on hand
$480K
Debts
$90K
  • Individuals 88% $4.1M
  • PACs & other committees 11% $506K
  • Party committees 0.1% $5,317
  • Candidate's own money & loans 1% $65K
  • Other receipts <0.1% $592

Campaign totals through Oct 14, 2026. Excludes $425K moved between the candidate's own committees.

Outside groups: $3.1M supporting · $1.4M opposing ($1.5M of it designated for the general election)

Biggest spenders supporting

  1. FIGHT FOR NEBRASKA PACSuper PACSpent mainly in primaries $1.3M
  2. CHC BOLD PACPAC with no sponsoring organizationSpent mainly in primaries $577K
  3. BOLD AMERICASuper PACSpent mainly in primaries $419K
  4. ELECT DEMOCRATIC WOMENPAC with no sponsoring organizationSpent mainly in primaries $214K
  5. EDW ACTION FUNDHybrid PAC (super PAC account)Spent mainly in primaries $199K

Biggest spenders opposing

  1. CLFHybrid PAC (super PAC account)99% of its general-election spending helped Republicans or opposed Democrats $1.4M

Largest direct PAC contributions

  1. ZINC COLLECTIVE PACHybrid PAC (super PAC account) $23K
  2. VOTE MAMAHybrid PAC (super PAC account) $14K
  3. EMILYS LISTPAC with no sponsoring organization $12K
  4. AMERIPAC: THE FUND FOR A GREATER AMERICALeadership PAC of Steny Hoyer $10K
  5. CHC BOLD PACPAC with no sponsoring organization $10K

Who gave.

Who gives $4.1M from individuals

21% in small-dollar gifts

$865K of $4.1M came unitemized: from donors whose gifts to the campaign this cycle total $200 or less, whom the campaign does not have to name.

The itemized gifts below add up to $1.8M of the $3.2M the campaign reported itemizing through Oct 14, 2026. The FEC has not yet processed the rest into its bulk file, which runs to Jun 30, 2026 for this campaign.

34% from Nebraska · 66% from elsewhere

Of itemized gifts, by the state on each donor's mailing address. Giving from other states is lawful and common.

65% of itemized dollars came earmarked through a conduit such as ActBlue or WinRed; each gift is counted once.

Top states

  1. Nebraska $612K
  2. California $267K
  3. New York $193K
  4. Florida $109K
  5. Massachusetts $96K
  6. Connecticut $63K
  7. Texas $56K
  8. Illinois $50K

Top employers named by donors

  1. UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER $19K
  2. UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA $11K
  3. HEARTLAND CENTER $8,650
  4. ALLEY POYNER MACCHIETTO ARCHITECTURE $8,350
  5. ERVIN & SMITH $5,910
  6. MUTUAL OF OMAHA $4,850
  7. AMERICAN NATIONAL BANK $3,590
  8. BAIRD HOLM LLP $3,500
  9. CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY $3,100
  10. KOHLER $3,100

Employers as donors wrote them on the form. A company listed here did not give this money; people who work there did.

Retired, self-employed, not employed or not given: $1.0M. Employers named by fewer than three donors, or filed as a person's name: $689K, not listed so no one donor is singled out.

Summary through Oct 14, 2026. Itemized gifts dated Apr 9, 2025 to Jun 30, 2026, net of refunds (2,594 entries). Every itemized contribution on FEC.gov ↗

From the principal campaign committee's FEC reports; joint-fundraising transfers and later reports are not included, and no donor is named here. A contribution is not evidence of a vote, favor or wrongdoing.

Outside money in the final weeks.

Outside spending including late reports: $3.9M for / $1.7M against · $261K in the final two weeks

That is $1.1M more than the $4.5M in regular reports alone. Source: FEC regular reports plus 24- and 48-hour reports they do not yet cover. The final two weeks run Oct 21, 2026 to Nov 3, 2026, by the date each ad or mailing went out.

$1.3M of the $4.2M on late reports was filed as an estimate. A 24- or 48-hour report is due within a day or two of the spending; the spender's later regular report carries the final cost.

What it bought, per the late reports

  • TV, radio & streaming TV 44% $1.9M
  • Digital ads 22% $931K
  • Ads, medium not stated 4% $151K
  • Mail, print & signs 15% $643K
  • Phones & texts 4% $181K
  • Canvassing & field 9% $374K
  • Ad production 2% $63K
  • Other or unclassified 0.1% $4,134

Largest late spenders for

  1. FIGHT FOR NEBRASKA PAC $1.3M
  2. CHC BOLD PAC $532K
  3. BOLD AMERICA $419K
  4. PROGRESSIVE TURNOUT PROJECT $336K
  5. ELECT DEMOCRATIC WOMEN $300K

Largest late spenders against

  1. NO GOING BACK PAC INC. $122K
  2. PROGRESSIVE PROMISE $100K
  3. CIVIC RENEWAL FUND INC. $69K
  4. MAGA INC. $20K

Latest dissemination on these reports: November 2, 2026. FEC 24- and 48-hour independent-expenditure reports read November 4, 2026, with amended and re-filed reports counted once (144 entries). These reports on FEC.gov ↗

Outside spending is, by law, made without coordinating with the candidate and is not the candidate's money. Purposes are grouped from each spender's own description, so the groups are approximate. A dollar figure is not evidence of a vote, favor or wrongdoing.

Where it went.

Where the money went $1.7M in itemized spending

These itemized payments cover $1.7M of the $4.6M the campaign reported spending through Oct 14, 2026. The FEC has not yet itemized the rest in its bulk file, which runs to Jun 30, 2026.

  • Advertising & outreach 47% $787K
  • Consultants & strategy 15% $244K
  • Staff & payroll 14% $232K
  • Fundraising & processing fees 8% $127K
  • Polling, research & data 9% $149K
  • Travel, meals & events 0.6% $10K
  • Office, technology & overhead 4% $68K
  • Legal & compliance 2% $35K
  • Contributions, transfers & refunds <0.1% $500
  • Other or unclassified 0.4% $5,938

Largest payees

  1. BUYING TIME $486K
  2. GUSTO $231K
  3. SB DIGITAL, INC. $221K
  4. MVAR MEDIA LLC $128K
  5. ONE HOUSE STRATEGIES $111K

Paid to individuals: $37K, such as staff, contractors and reimbursements. People who were paid are not named here.

Payments dated May 4, 2025 to Jun 30, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (422 entries). Every payment on FEC.gov ↗

Grouped by each campaign's own description of the payment, so the groups are approximate. Payments of $200 or less to one payee need not be itemized, detail filed only as memo entries counts under other or unclassified, and spending by the candidate's other committees or by outside groups is not included. A payment is not evidence of a favor or wrongdoing.

Others who filed for this seat.

Questions worth asking.

Money shows who backed a campaign, not how a person will act. Compare it with what they did and said: their votes or official actions if they have held office, their own statements, and their answers to a finding. Use the same questions for every candidate.

FEC bulk data read November 4, 2026. Campaign totals come from each filing's own FEC summary through its latest processed report. Outside spending is independent expenditures itemized in committee reports in the FEC bulk files, primaries included; late 24- and 48-hour reports, party coordinated spending, communication costs and groups that do not report to the FEC are not included. Outside spending is, by law, made without coordinating with the candidate, and it is not the candidate's money. A contribution or expenditure is not evidence of a vote, favor or wrongdoing. This page identifies the filing by its FEC candidate ID; a person can hold more than one filing.