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Hugin

2026 candidate · follow the money

Who funds John Cavanaugh?

Nebraska U.S. House District 2DemocratFiled for an open seatFEC H6NE02190
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The money.

John CavanaughFEC filing: John Cavanaugh · H6NE02190 ↗
Raised
$1.4M
Spent
$1.4M
Cash on hand
$12K
  • Individuals 87% $1.2M
  • PACs & other committees 12% $165K
  • Party committees <0.1% $385
  • Other receipts 1% $18K

Campaign totals through Sep 30, 2026.

Outside groups: $287K supporting · $2.3M opposing

Biggest spenders supporting

  1. CONGRESSIONAL PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS PACPAC with no sponsoring organizationSpent mainly in primaries $287K
  2. SIERRA CLUB INDEPENDENT ACTIONSuper PAC $10

Biggest spenders opposing

  1. NEW DEMOCRAT MAJORITYSuper PACSpent mainly in primaries $735K
  2. FIGHT FOR NEBRASKA PACSuper PACSpent mainly in primaries $675K
  3. LEAD LEFT PACSuper PACSpent mainly in primaries $435K
  4. EDW ACTION FUNDHybrid PAC (super PAC account)Spent mainly in primaries $199K
  5. PRO-CHOICE MAJORITY 2026Hybrid PAC (super PAC account)Spent mainly in primaries $121K

Largest direct PAC contributions

  1. INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEEUnion PAC · International Brotherhood Of Electrical Workers $10K
  2. DEMOCRACY SUMMER LEADERSHIP PACLeadership PAC of Jamie Raskin $10K
  3. BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS & TRAINMEN PAC FUNDUnion PAC · International Brotherhood Of Teamsters - Drive $7,500
  4. MACHINISTS NON PARTISAN POLITICAL LEAGUE OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS & AEROSPACE WORKERSUnion PAC · International Association Of Machinists And Aerospace Workers $5,000
  5. INT'L UNION OF BRICKLAYERS AND ALLIED CRAFTWORKERSUnion PAC · Int'L Union Of Bricklayers And Allied Craftworkers $5,000

Who gave.

Who gives $1.2M from individuals

15% in small-dollar gifts

$173K of $1.2M came unitemized: from donors whose gifts to the campaign this cycle total $200 or less, whom the campaign does not have to name.

Adding itemized gifts from donors whose itemized total is $200 or less, about 16%. Many small gifts sent through ActBlue or WinRed are itemized anyway, so the first figure runs low; this estimate groups donors by name and ZIP code as filed and counts only itemized gifts already in the FEC bulk file.

53% from Nebraska · 47% from elsewhere

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

80% of itemized dollars came earmarked through a conduit such as ActBlue or WinRed; each gift is counted once.

Top states

  1. Nebraska $531K
  2. California $57K
  3. Illinois $56K
  4. Virginia $54K
  5. New York $47K
  6. District of Columbia $46K
  7. Massachusetts $33K
  8. Maryland $27K

Top employers named by donors

  1. AMAZON $8,000
  2. KUTAK ROCK LLP $6,550
  3. GIBSON DUNN & CRUTCHER LLP $6,250
  4. MUTUAL OF OMAHA $5,649
  5. UNMC $5,450
  6. GIBSON DUNN $5,250
  7. GIBSON DUNN & CRUTCHER $4,500
  8. KUTAK ROCK $3,849
  9. FRASER STRYKER $3,400
  10. STATE OF NEBRASKA $2,770

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: $491K. Employers named by fewer than three donors, or filed as a person's name: $454K, not listed so no one donor is singled out.

Summary through Sep 30, 2026. Itemized gifts dated Jun 3, 2025 to May 13, 2026, net of refunds (2,289 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: $301K for / $2.3M against · $0 in the final two weeks

That is $15K more than the $2.5M 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.

$409K of the $2.6M 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 65% $1.7M
  • Digital ads 9% $217K
  • Ads, medium not stated 17% $435K
  • Mail, print & signs 8% $194K
  • Phones & texts 0.9% $22K
  • Ad production 0.7% $18K

Largest late spenders for

  1. CONGRESSIONAL PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS PAC $286K
  2. PROGRESSIVE PROMISE $15K

Largest late spenders against

  1. NEW DEMOCRAT MAJORITY $735K
  2. FIGHT FOR NEBRASKA PAC $675K
  3. LEAD LEFT PAC $435K
  4. EDW ACTION FUND $199K
  5. PRO-CHOICE MAJORITY 2026 $121K

Latest dissemination on these reports: May 11, 2026. FEC 24- and 48-hour independent-expenditure reports read November 4, 2026, with amended and re-filed reports counted once (39 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 $1.3M in itemized spending

  • Advertising & outreach 67% $853K
  • Consultants & strategy 1% $17K
  • Staff & payroll 12% $157K
  • Fundraising & processing fees 5% $59K
  • Polling, research & data 6% $75K
  • Travel, meals & events 1% $16K
  • Office, technology & overhead 4% $46K
  • Legal & compliance 3% $38K
  • Other or unclassified 0.5% $5,755

Largest payees

  1. SCREEN STRATEGIES MEDIA $620K
  2. GUSTO $151K
  3. DIXON/DAVIS MEDIA GROUP LLC $87K
  4. GBAO $68K
  5. AMHC $41K

Paid to individuals: $77K, such as staff, contractors and reimbursements. People who were paid are not named here.

Payments dated Jun 16, 2025 to Jun 29, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (411 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.