Who Gives to American Trade and Professional Association Political Action Committees and Why?

• Published date: 01 January 2025
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X241272322
• Author: Anthony J. Nownes,Rachel Vincent
• Date: 01 January 2025

Article

American Politics Research

2025, Vol. 53(1) 55–68

© The Author(s) 2024

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DOI: 10.1177/1532673X241272322

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Who Gives to American Trade and

Professional Association Political Action

Committees and Why?

Anthony J. Nownes

1

and Rachel Vincent

1

Abstract

This paper asks: Why do people contribute to American trade and professional association political action committees (PACs)?

Our data, which come from an original survey of donors during the 2021–2022 federal election cycle, indicate that trade and

professional association PAC donors are not like other campaign donors. Spe cifically, unlike donors to candidates, who appear

to be motivated primarily by purposive benefits and ideology, these PAC donors are motivated largely by material benefits. Our

data also showthat trade and professional association PACs are constraining forces in Ame rican politics. While donors tend to

hue to a strict ideological lane, PACs do not. In short, PACs are balanced in their giving, while individual donors are not.

Keywords

campaign contributions, political action committees, interest groups

Why do people make campaign contributions? We are closer

than ever to having good answers to this question. Yet lacunae

remain. For example, because most studies addressing this

question focus on contributions to candidates, we know

relatively little about why people contribute to political action

committees (PACs). Moreover, the few studies of PAC

contributors that do exist focus almost exclusively on cor-

porate PACs. Yet candidates and corporate PACs are hardly

the only recipients of individual contributions. Indeed, the

most recent data from the Federal Election Commission

(FEC) shows that there are 693 non-corporate “trade PACs”

(which is FEC nomenclature for PACs affiliated with trade or

professional associations) currently registered with the

agency (FEC, 2023a). Only corporate PACs are more nu-

merous among traditional PACs (i.e., separate segregated

funds). Furthermore, many of Washington’sbigges t spending

lobbying groups are trade associations with affiliated PACs.

For example, in 2022, all four of the biggest lobbying

spenders in Washington (National Association of Realtors,

US Chamber of Commerce, Pharmaceutical Research and

Manufacturers Association, and American Hospital Associ-

ation) were trade associations with PACs, as were seven of the

top 10 (Opensecrets.org,“Top Spenders”). In addition,

spending data shows that trade PACs are major (though

admittedly not dominant) players in federal campaign fi-

nance. During the presidential election cycle of 2019–2020,

trade PACs collected over $161 million and dispersed

just short of $150 million (FEC, 2021a). Trade PACs made

18% of PAC contributions to 2019–2020 House candidates

and 16% of all PAC contributions to Senate candidates

(FEC, 2021b). During the 2021–2022 election cycle, trade

PACs collected $163.8 million and dispersed just over

$148 million (FEC, 2023b). They were responsible for 16%

of PAC contributions to Senate candidates and 18% of PAC

contributions to House candidates (FEC, 2023c). Finally,

trade PACs count among their numbers some truly heavy

hitters. Several trade PACs are multi-million dollar contrib-

utors, including (during the 2019–2020 election cycle) the

American Society of Anesthesiologists PAC ($6.9 million),

CULAC, the PAC of the Credit Union National Association

($5.7 million), the National Automobile Dealers Association

PAC ($4.6 million), the National Rural Electric Cooperative

Association PAC ($4.3 million), the American Bankers

Association PAC ($4.19 million), and the National Beer

Wholesalers Association PAC ($4.1 million), (FEC, 2023d).

In short, trade and professional association PACs are

noteworthy players in federal elections. They do not collect or

disburse as much money as corporate or labor PACs do. But

the amounts trade PACs collect and disburse are hardly

negligible. Nonetheless, we know next to nothing about who

contributes to these PACs and why they do it. Here, we report

1

The University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, USA

Corresponding Author:

Anthony J. Nownes, Department of Political Science, The University of

Tennessee Knoxville, 1001 McClung Tower, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.

Email: anownes@utk.edu