2026 race · follow the money
New Jersey U.S. House District 8
4 filings report $4.6M raised, and outside groups reported $913K in independent spending for or against them. Compare where each campaign's money came from and who spent to help or hurt it.
The count.
Checking the election sources…
Side by side.
Raised excludes transfers between a candidate's own committees. Shares are of that total. Filings appear in order of money raised; this includes primary candidates who are no longer running.
| Candidate | Raised | Individuals | PACs | Own money | Spent | Cash | Outside for | Outside against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert J. MenendezDemocrat · Filed as incumbent | $2.2M | 58% | 41% | 0% | $1.8M | $722K | $913K | — |
| Robert MenendezDemocrat · Filed as challenger | $2.2M | 58% | 41% | 0% | $1.8M | $722K | $10 | — |
| Mussab AliDemocrat · Filed as challenger | $278K | 97% | 2% | 1% | $278K | $0 | — | — |
| Richard Joseph BarillaIndependent · Filed as challenger | $5,600 | 0% | 0% | 100% | $3,749 | $1,851 | — | — |
Who spent from outside.
The largest independent spenders in this race, summed from each candidate's five largest spenders on each side.
- THINK BIG$638K for Robert J. Menendez
- PROTECT PROGRESS$263K for Robert J. Menendez
- NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$11K for Robert J. Menendez
- SIERRA CLUB INDEPENDENT ACTION$10 for Robert Menendez
Each campaign.
Sitting member of Congress · Robert Menendez
In the U.S. House (NJ-8) since 2023 · current term ends Jan 3, 2027
- Recorded yea or nay on 24 of the 24 key House floor votes captured in Hugin's snapshot
- 1 committee: Energy and Commerce · 3 subcommittees
- 231 committees reported contributions to them this cycle · 3 committees reported outside spending for or against them
Linked to this filing by its exact FEC candidate ID (H2NJ08232) 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.
- Raised
- $2.2M
- Spent
- $1.8M
- Cash on hand
- $722K
- Individuals 58% $1.3M
- PACs & other committees 41% $886K
- Other receipts 0.7% $15K
Campaign totals through Oct 14, 2026. Excludes $84K moved between the candidate's own committees.
Outside groups: $913K supporting · $0 opposing
Biggest spenders supporting
Largest direct PAC contributions
Where the money went $1.5M in itemized spending
These itemized payments cover $1.5M of the $1.8M 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 38% $561K
- Consultants & strategy 10% $153K
- Staff & payroll 8% $110K
- Fundraising & processing fees 23% $340K
- Polling, research & data 6% $88K
- Travel, meals & events 3% $47K
- Office, technology & overhead 1% $17K
- Legal & compliance 4% $61K
- Other or unclassified 7% $100K
Largest payees
- MEDIA FORTITUDE $215K
- FROST GROUP $196K
- MESSAGE & MEDIA, INC. $192K
- ROYAL PRINTING SERVICE $134K
- CARDMEMBER SERVICES $100K
Paid to individuals: $181K, 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 (522 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.
- Raised
- $2.2M
- Spent
- $1.8M
- Cash on hand
- $722K
- Individuals 58% $1.3M
- PACs & other committees 41% $886K
- Other receipts 0.7% $15K
Campaign totals through Oct 14, 2026. Excludes $84K moved between the candidate's own committees.
Outside groups: $10 supporting · $0 opposing
Biggest spenders supporting
Largest direct PAC contributions
Where the money went $1.5M in itemized spending
These itemized payments cover $1.5M of the $1.8M 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 38% $561K
- Consultants & strategy 10% $153K
- Staff & payroll 8% $110K
- Fundraising & processing fees 23% $340K
- Polling, research & data 6% $88K
- Travel, meals & events 3% $47K
- Office, technology & overhead 1% $17K
- Legal & compliance 4% $61K
- Other or unclassified 7% $100K
Largest payees
- MEDIA FORTITUDE $215K
- FROST GROUP $196K
- MESSAGE & MEDIA, INC. $192K
- ROYAL PRINTING SERVICE $134K
- CARDMEMBER SERVICES $100K
Paid to individuals: $181K, 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 (522 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.
- Raised
- $278K
- Spent
- $278K
- Cash on hand
- $0
- Debts
- $9,602
- Individuals 97% $269K
- PACs & other committees 2% $5,000
- Candidate's own money & loans 1% $3,375
Campaign totals through Sep 26, 2026.
No independent expenditures for or against this filing are itemized in the bulk file.
Largest direct PAC contributions
- MARCH ON PAC $5,000
Where the money went $259K in itemized spending
- Advertising & outreach 27% $70K
- Consultants & strategy 6% $15K
- Staff & payroll 30% $77K
- Fundraising & processing fees 12% $31K
- Polling, research & data 7% $19K
- Travel, meals & events 2% $6,213
- Office, technology & overhead 12% $30K
- Legal & compliance 4% $10K
- Other or unclassified 0.2% $640
Largest payees
- GUSTO $76K
- ANTHPO, LLC $43K
- GOODMAN CAMPAIGNS, LLC $11K
- COBALT COMPLIANCE $10K
- ACTBLUE TECHNICAL SERVICES $9,714
Paid to individuals: $56K, such as staff, contractors and reimbursements. People who were paid are not named here.
Payments dated Feb 4, 2026 to Sep 15, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (169 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.
- Raised
- $5,600
- Spent
- $3,749
- Cash on hand
- $1,851
- Candidate's own money & loans 100% $5,600
Campaign totals through Apr 14, 2026.
No independent expenditures for or against this filing are itemized in the bulk file.
Where the money went $3,078 in itemized spending
These itemized payments cover $3,078 of the $3,749 the campaign reported spending through Apr 14, 2026. The FEC has not yet itemized the rest in its bulk file, which runs to Jun 30, 2025.
- Advertising & outreach 84% $2,595
- Polling, research & data 8% $250
- Office, technology & overhead 8% $233
Largest payees
- GOOGLE LLC, D/B/A YOUTUBE $1,126
- PEERLY $462
- PIPO US INC $335
- META PLATFORMS $320
- SQUARESPACE $311
Payments dated Feb 17, 2025 to Jun 30, 2025, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (10 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.
Also registered for this seat, with no campaign summary or outside spending in the bulk file: Da'Shone Hughey.
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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.