The McCutcheon Decision – What Does It Mean?
The McCutcheon Decision - What Does It Mean?
The Washington Post created a very helpful infographic on what the McCutcheon v. FEC decision actually does:
Candidates
Before, a single donor could contribute up to $5,200 to every House and Senate candidate up to a limit of $48,600.
Now, if a single donor gives $5,200 to every House and Senate candidates of one party in a 468-race election cycle, the total would be $2,433,600.
Party committees
Before, contributions to party committees were limited to $74,600 total.
Now, a single donor can give $32,400 to each of the three federal party committees each year and $10,000 to each of the party’s 50 state committees for up to $1,194,400 in donations in a two-year election cycle.
Political action committees
Before, contributions to PACs were limited to a total of $74,600 in increments of up to $5,000. There were 2,757 PACs in the 2012 election cycle.
Now, a single donor can give up to $5,000 to each PAC aligned with his or her political interest. If a donor spent $5,000 on every PAC in the 2012 election cycle, that would equal $13.7 million.
