2026 candidate · follow the money
Who funds Tom Malinowski?
The money.
- Raised
- $1.5M
- Spent
- $1.5M
- Cash on hand
- $17K
- Individuals 96% $1.5M
- PACs & other committees 4% $56K
- Other receipts <0.1% $947
Campaign totals through Sep 30, 2026.
Outside groups: $734K supporting · $2.5M opposing
Biggest spenders supporting
- THE AMERICAN IDEALS PAC $734K
Biggest spenders opposing
Largest direct PAC contributions
Who gave.
Who gives $1.5M from individuals
9% in small-dollar gifts
$130K of $1.5M 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 $1.2M of the $1.3M the campaign reported itemizing through Sep 30, 2026. The FEC has not yet processed the rest into its bulk file, which runs to Feb 24, 2026 for this campaign.
55% from New Jersey · 45% from elsewhere
Of itemized gifts, by the state on each donor's mailing address; $2,000 had no usable state. Giving from other states is lawful and common.
99% of itemized dollars came earmarked through a conduit such as ActBlue or WinRed; each gift is counted once.
Top states
- New Jersey $652K
- New York $151K
- California $93K
- District of Columbia $65K
- Massachusetts $51K
- Maryland $49K
- Virginia $33K
- Texas $15K
Top employers named by donors
- LOWENSTEIN SANDLER LLP $5,750
- PRINCETON UNIVERSITY $2,250
- RUTGERS UNIVERSITY $2,000
- COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY $1,250
- INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP $760
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: $669K. Employers named by fewer than three donors, or filed as a person's name: $506K, not listed so no one donor is singled out.
Summary through Sep 30, 2026. Itemized gifts dated Oct 27, 2025 to Feb 24, 2026, net of refunds (1,473 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: $734K for / $2.5M 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 87% $636K
- Digital ads 13% $99K
Largest late spenders for
- THE AMERICAN IDEALS PAC $734K
Latest dissemination on these reports: February 2, 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 $1.3M in itemized spending
These itemized payments cover $1.3M of the $1.5M the campaign reported spending through Sep 30, 2026. The FEC has not yet itemized the rest in its bulk file, which runs to Apr 2, 2026.
- Advertising & outreach 71% $951K
- Consultants & strategy 1% $14K
- Staff & payroll 7% $87K
- Fundraising & processing fees 12% $167K
- Polling, research & data 6% $84K
- Travel, meals & events 0.6% $8,468
- Office, technology & overhead 1% $16K
- Legal & compliance 1% $14K
- Other or unclassified 0.2% $2,460
Largest payees
- MEDIA FORTITUDE PARTNERS $602K
- THE PIVOT GROUP $267K
- GQR $84K
- NEW BLUE INTERACTIVE $75K
- MESSAGE & MEDIA $73K
Paid to individuals: $24K, such as staff, contractors and reimbursements. People who were paid are not named here.
Payments dated Nov 4, 2025 to Apr 2, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (139 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.
- Analilia MejiaDemocrat · $2.2M raised · $483K outside
- Brendan W GillDemocrat · $1.1M raised · $32K outside
- Tahesha WayDemocrat · $849K raised · $2.1M outside
- Joe HathawayRepublican · $838K raised · $183K outside
- Zach BeecherDemocrat · $662K raised · $306K outside
- John BartlettDemocrat · $496K raised
- Jeff GrayzelDemocrat · $485K raised
- Cammie L CroftDemocrat · $382K raised
- Vincent MatriscianoUnaffiliated · $291K raised
- Marc ChaabanDemocrat · $119K raised
- Donald CresitelloDemocrat · $116K raised
- Jean-Louis CauvinDemocrat · $111K 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.