2026 candidate · follow the money
Who funds Melissa Conyears-Ervin?
The money.
- Raised
- $825K
- Spent
- $823K
- Cash on hand
- $11K
- Individuals 98% $808K
- PACs & other committees 2% $14K
- Candidate's own money & loans 0.4% $3,500
- Other receipts <0.1% $1
Campaign totals through Sep 30, 2026.
Outside groups: $5.0M supporting · $56K opposing
Biggest spenders supporting
Biggest spenders opposing
- UNITED WE CAN $55K
- THE PEOPLE'S LOBBY $1,166
Largest direct PAC contributions
Who gave.
Who gives $808K from individuals
2% in small-dollar gifts
$18K of $808K came unitemized: from donors whose gifts to the campaign this cycle total $200 or less, whom the campaign does not have to name.
66% from Illinois · 34% from elsewhere
Of itemized gifts, by the state on each donor's mailing address; $250 had no usable state. Giving from other states is lawful and common.
57% of itemized dollars came earmarked through a conduit such as ActBlue or WinRed; each gift is counted once.
Top states
- Illinois $501K
- California $55K
- New York $54K
- Florida $34K
- New Jersey $18K
- Missouri $12K
- Ohio $12K
- Massachusetts $11K
Top employers named by donors
- CITY OF CHICAGO $10K
- KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP $5,000
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: $241K. Employers named by fewer than three donors, or filed as a person's name: $504K, not listed so no one donor is singled out.
Summary through Sep 30, 2026. Itemized gifts dated Aug 1, 2025 to Apr 23, 2026, net of refunds (663 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: $5.0M for / $56K against · $0 in the final two weeks
Source: FEC regular reports. The final two weeks run Oct 21, 2026 to Nov 3, 2026, by the date each ad or mailing went out.
$55K of the $5.0M 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
- Digital ads 1% $55K
- Ads, medium not stated 89% $4.5M
- Mail, print & signs 8% $380K
- Phones & texts 2% $100K
Largest late spenders for
Largest late spenders against
- UNITED WE CAN $55K
- THE PEOPLE'S LOBBY $870
Latest dissemination on these reports: March 11, 2026. FEC 24- and 48-hour independent-expenditure reports read November 4, 2026, with amended and re-filed reports counted once (22 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 $798K in itemized spending
- Advertising & outreach 62% $493K
- Consultants & strategy 8% $63K
- Staff & payroll 5% $38K
- Fundraising & processing fees 11% $85K
- Polling, research & data 9% $69K
- Travel, meals & events 0.4% $3,368
- Office, technology & overhead 1% $11K
- Legal & compliance 4% $31K
- Contributions, transfers & refunds 0.4% $3,500
- Other or unclassified 0.1% $1,000
Largest payees
- TKO BUYING LLC $334K
- DELIVER STRATEGIES LLC $103K
- GBAO $64K
- NC CONSULTING LLC $35K
- TKO POLITICAL LLC $34K
Paid to individuals: $22K, such as staff, contractors and reimbursements. People who were paid are not named here.
Payments dated Jan 21, 2025 to Sep 29, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (210 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.
- Jason FriedmanDemocrat · $2.5M raised · $409K outside
- Thomas FisherDemocrat · $917K raised · $120K outside
- La Shawn K FordDemocrat · $819K raised · $2.5M outside
- Richard BoykinDemocrat · $454K raised
- Reed ShowalterDemocrat · $368K raised
- Anabel MendozaDemocrat · $294K raised
- Anthony Driver Jr.Democrat · $249K raised · $538K outside
- Rory E. HoskinsDemocrat · $214K raised
- Danny K. DavisDemocrat · $101K raised
- Chad KoppieRepublican · $60K raised
- Kina I CollinsDemocrat · $55K raised
- Jazmin J. RobinsonDemocrat · $21K raised
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.