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Hugin

2026 candidate · follow the money

Who funds Susan M. Collins?

Maine U.S. SenateRepublicanFiled as incumbentFEC S6ME00159
Compare the whole race →Results in Maine ↗Search Hugin records ↗FEC filing ↗

What they did in office.

Sitting member of Congress · Susan M. Collins

In the U.S. Senate (ME) since 1997 · current term ends Jan 3, 2027

  • Recorded yea or nay on 16 of the 16 key Senate floor votes captured in Hugin's snapshot
  • 3 committees: Appropriations (Chairman), Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Select Committee on Intelligence · 13 subcommittees
  • 480 committees reported contributions to them this cycle · 16 committees reported outside spending for or against them

Linked to this filing by its exact FEC candidate ID (S6ME00159) in the congress-legislators roster of Oct 21, 2026. Votes are one key floor vote per bill on bills named in contractor lobbying reports (Oct 29, 2026); committee seats are the roster as of Oct 24, 2026; money counts are FEC reports for 2026 as of Oct 24, 2026. These are what Hugin's snapshots captured, not complete records, and none of them is a score or evidence of motive.

The money.

Susan M. CollinsFEC filing: Susan M. Collins · S6ME00159 ↗
Raised
$17M
Spent
$22M
Cash on hand
$2.7M
  • Individuals 90% $15M
  • PACs & other committees 9% $1.6M
  • Party committees 0.4% $62K
  • Other receipts 0.8% $138K

Campaign totals through Oct 14, 2026. Excludes $5.4M moved between the candidate's own committees.

Outside groups: $2.4M supporting · $1.5M opposing ($2.3M of it designated for the general election)

Biggest spenders supporting

  1. LEAD MAINE COMMITTEE, INC.Super PACSpent mainly in primaries $638K
  2. SLF PACSuper PACSpent mainly in primaries $626K
  3. CLEARPATH ACTION FUND, INC.Super PACSpent mainly in primaries $616K
  4. STRONGER MAINESuper PACSpent mainly in primaries $539K
  5. RED SENATESuper PAC87% of its general-election spending helped Republicans or opposed Democrats $16K

Biggest spenders opposing

  1. PLANNED PARENTHOOD VOTESSuper PACAll of its general-election spending helped Democrats or opposed Republicans $754K
  2. GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS PACHybrid PAC (super PAC account)All of its general-election spending helped Democrats or opposed Republicans $351K
  3. REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM FOR ALL FREEDOM FUNDSuper PACAll of its general-election spending helped Democrats or opposed Republicans $170K
  4. VOTEVETSHybrid PAC (super PAC account)Spent mainly in primaries $120K
  5. AFSCME WORKING FAMILIES FUNDFiler that is not a political committee98% of its general-election spending helped Democrats or opposed Republicans $91K

Largest direct PAC contributions

  1. NRSCRepublican party committee $62K
  2. REPUBLICAN JEWISH COALITION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (RJC-PAC)Membership group PAC · Republican Jewish Coalition $14K
  3. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (NABPAC)Trade association PAC · National Association Of Broadcasters $12K
  4. BUILD POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS (BUILDPAC)Trade association PAC · National Association Of Home Builders $10K
  5. TRUCKING POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN TRUCKING ASSOCIATIONS INC.Trade association PAC · American Trucking Associations Inc. $10K

Who gave.

Who gives $15M from individuals

17% in small-dollar gifts

$2.6M of $15M 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 $8.6M of the $13M 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.

10% from Maine · 90% from elsewhere

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

61% of itemized dollars came earmarked through a conduit such as ActBlue or WinRed; each gift is counted once.

Top states

  1. Florida $1.3M
  2. California $974K
  3. Maine $855K
  4. New York $851K
  5. Massachusetts $527K
  6. Texas $499K
  7. New Jersey $312K
  8. Virginia $258K

Top employers named by donors

  1. AMERICAN AIRLINES $38K
  2. APOLLO $32K
  3. APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT $25K
  4. GENERAL DYNAMICS $23K
  5. OHARA CORPORATION $21K
  6. GOLDMAN SACHS $16K
  7. TARGETED VICTORY $14K
  8. KIRKLAND & ELLIS $14K
  9. WILLKIE FARR & GALLAGHER LLP $13K
  10. US SENATE $12K

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: $3.9M. Employers named by fewer than three donors, or filed as a person's name: $4.4M, not listed so no one donor is singled out.

Summary through Oct 14, 2026. Itemized gifts dated Jan 2, 2025 to Jun 30, 2026, net of refunds (17,064 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: $8.5M for / $39M against · $10M in the final two weeks

That is $43M more than the $4.0M 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.

$36M of the $47M 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 2% $974K
  • Digital ads 22% $11M
  • Ads, medium not stated 61% $29M
  • Mail, print & signs 10% $4.8M
  • Phones & texts 2% $895K
  • Canvassing & field 0.6% $274K
  • Ad production 2% $746K
  • Other or unclassified <0.1% $22K

Largest late spenders for

  1. STRONGER MAINE $2.4M
  2. SLF PAC $1.4M
  3. LEAD MAINE COMMITTEE, INC. $1.4M
  4. AMERICA'S CREDIT UNIONS $1.0M
  5. AMERICA PAC $771K

Largest late spenders against

  1. WINSENATE $33M
  2. PLANNED PARENTHOOD VOTES $1.3M
  3. END CITIZENS UNITED ACTION FUND $1.0M
  4. AB PAC $831K
  5. LCV VICTORY FUND $771K

Latest dissemination on these reports: November 3, 2026. FEC 24- and 48-hour independent-expenditure reports read November 4, 2026, with amended and re-filed reports counted once (453 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 $7.2M in itemized spending

These itemized payments cover $7.2M of the $22M 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 36% $2.6M
  • Consultants & strategy 2% $127K
  • Staff & payroll 9% $634K
  • Fundraising & processing fees 45% $3.2M
  • Polling, research & data 2% $156K
  • Travel, meals & events 4% $266K
  • Office, technology & overhead 3% $188K
  • Contributions, transfers & refunds 0.1% $10K
  • Other or unclassified 0.2% $13K

Largest payees

  1. TARGETED VICTORY $2.5M
  2. MENTZER MEDIA SERVICES $1.5M
  3. THE VOYAGEUR COMPANY LLC $752K
  4. THE MORNING GROUP $321K
  5. ARISTEIA GROUP, INC $312K

Paid to individuals: $377K, such as staff, contractors and reimbursements. People who were paid are not named here.

Payments dated Jan 2, 2025 to Jun 30, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (938 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.