2026 candidate · follow the money
Who funds Sam McCown?
The money.
- Raised
- $1.6M
- Spent
- $1.6M
- Cash on hand
- $0
- Debts
- $902K
- Individuals 20% $317K
- PACs & other committees 2% $27K
- Candidate's own money & loans 78% $1.2M
- Other receipts 0.2% $3,007
Campaign totals through Sep 30, 2026.
Outside groups: $650K supporting · $0 opposing
Biggest spenders supporting
Largest direct PAC contributions
- AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (SKINPAC) $5,000
- AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NEUROLOGICAL SURGEONS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (NEUROSURGERYPAC) $5,000
- HEALTHCARE FREEDOM FUND $5,000
- MIKE KENNEDY FOR UTAH $4,000
- AMERICAN ACADEMY OF OTOLARYNGOLOGY-HEAD AND NECK SURGERY ENT PAC $2,500
Who gave.
Who gives $317K from individuals
0.8% in small-dollar gifts
$2,451 of $317K came unitemized: from donors whose gifts to the campaign this cycle total $200 or less, whom the campaign does not have to name.
94% from South Carolina · 6% from elsewhere
Of itemized gifts, by the state on each donor's mailing address. Giving from other states is lawful and common.
Top states
- South Carolina $282K
- Georgia $7,143
- New York $3,500
- Virginia $3,082
- Florida $2,001
- North Carolina $1,750
- District of Columbia $1,041
- Texas $500
Top employers named by donors
- MCLEOD HEALTH $9,500
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: $169K. Employers named by fewer than three donors, or filed as a person's name: $122K, not listed so no one donor is singled out.
Summary through Sep 30, 2026. Itemized gifts dated Sep 15, 2025 to Jun 29, 2026, net of refunds (157 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: $650K for / $0 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.
What it bought, per the late reports
- TV, radio & streaming TV 73% $405K
- Digital ads 18% $100K
- Mail, print & signs 6% $32K
- Ad production 3% $15K
Largest late spenders for
- STRONG PAC $520K
- STRONG CONSERVATIVE VALUES PAC $32K
Latest dissemination on these reports: June 1, 2026. FEC 24- and 48-hour independent-expenditure reports read November 4, 2026, with amended and re-filed reports counted once (5 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 $1.2M in itemized spending
These itemized payments cover $1.2M of the $1.6M the campaign reported spending through Sep 30, 2026. The FEC has not yet itemized the rest in its bulk file, which runs to Jun 30, 2026.
- Advertising & outreach 76% $934K
- Consultants & strategy 10% $126K
- Staff & payroll 2% $21K
- Fundraising & processing fees 5% $64K
- Polling, research & data 4% $47K
- Travel, meals & events 0.7% $9,148
- Office, technology & overhead 0.8% $9,611
- Legal & compliance 1% $14K
- Other or unclassified 0.2% $2,192
Largest payees
- AMERICAN MEDIA GROUP $666K
- VICTORY ENTERPRISES, INC. $135K
- DRAKE STRATEGIES $72K
- FP1 STRATEGIES LLC $68K
- ELEVEN17 CONSULTING LLC $61K
Paid to individuals: $29K, such as staff, contractors and reimbursements. People who were paid are not named here.
Payments dated Sep 30, 2025 to Jun 30, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (184 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.
- Nancy LacoreDemocrat · $4.8M raised · $709K outside
- Jenny Costa HoneycuttRepublican · $1.2M raised · $1.0M outside
- Mark SmithRepublican · $957K raised · $312K outside
- William Mac DefordDemocrat · $658K raised · $25K outside
- Alex PelbathRepublican · $364K raised · $73K outside
- Marshall C. SanfordRepublican · $355K raised · $1.9M outside
- Nancy MaceRepublican · $184K raised · $3,639 outside
- Mayra Rivera-VazquezDemocrat · $126K raised
- William Oliver Reeside Jr.Libertarian · $115K raised
- Logan CunninghamRepublican · $30K raised
- Tyler DykesRepublican · $25K raised
- Kj AtwoodDemocrat · $19K 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.