SMC Representative Elise Stefanik Discussion
To learn which groups are contributing the most to election campaigns, the nonprofit organization OpenSecrets.orgLinks to an external site.publishes ongoing data about lobbying activities in the U.S. government. This information is continuously updated during each election cycle.Go to opensecrets.org Links to an external site. and click on Influence and Lobbying, and then on Interest Groups. You will see the total contribution by each sector to each of the major parties, such as financial services, lawyers and lobbyists, communications/electronics, health, and energy/natural resources.Select Financial Services/Insurance/Real Estate to see how companies within this sector contributed to election campaigns. Beyond the first box on contribution totals, you will find graphics that show the level of contributions by the sector over time, the total amount spent on lobbying, which parties received the funds, and the top recipients by name of those funds, among other information.Return to the main page of the site and select Politicians and Elections. Then select the tab for Congress. You can examine any of the members in leadership positions whose names and photos are on the main page. Or you can find your member of Congress or the candidate who challenged that member by using the box on the right and entering part of the members or candidates name.How much did he or she spend on the last election campaign, and where did the money come from?Click on the members name to see the leading contributors to the campaign. What conclusions would you draw?To what extent do you think the sources of election funding might affect decisions on public policy issues before Congress?
