Direct answer
Journalists and political commentators track campaign finance by monitoring FEC committee filings for candidates, parties, and outside groups on their beat. Set alerts before quarterly deadlines, compare receipts and cash on hand when reports land, and verify every number on FEC.gov before publishing.
Start with public race totals
Before building a watchlist, preview 2026 race fundraising trackers for candidate receipts and cash on hand from public FEC data — then verify figures on FEC.gov before citing them. Inside Pachand, filing alerts and scoreboards update when watchlisted committees file.
What to watch on the FEC
- Candidate committees — U.S. Senate, House, and presidential fundraising (Form F3 / F3P)
- Party committees — DNC, RNC, and congressional campaign committees
- Outside groups — Super PACs and independent expenditures (Schedule E)
- Filing deadlines — quarterly and pre-election windows drive most news pegs; see the 2026 FEC deadlines guide
Newsroom workflow
- Preview public race totals for the contest you cover
- Build a committee watchlist for your race or beat
- Enable filing alerts before FEC deadline weeks
- Compare cash-on-hand and receipts vs the prior filing period
- Pair totals with aggregate donor ZIP geography for local angles
- Use OpenSecrets or FEC.gov for deep-dive background — see OpenSecrets vs Pachand
- Cite FEC.gov in the story — Pachand is a monitoring desk, not the official record
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
- How do journalists track campaign finance?
- Reporters start with FEC.gov for official filings, set alerts for committees on their beat, and compare receipts and cash-on-hand when new reports land. Pachand automates watchlist alerts, cash comparisons, and aggregate donor ZIP maps on public FEC data.
- What FEC data matters most for news stories?
- Quarterly and pre-election reports show total receipts and cash on hand. Independent expenditure filings show outside spending. Party committee reports cover DNC and RNC national accounts. Always cite FEC.gov as the official source in published work.
- Can reporters see individual donors in Pachand?
- Itemized Schedule A is on FEC.gov for research. Pachand shows aggregate ZIP-level donor geography only — not individual names or addresses — consistent with how many newsrooms use campaign finance data responsibly.
- Should newsrooms use OpenSecrets or Pachand?
- They solve different jobs. OpenSecrets excels at research profiles, industry totals, and historical context. Pachand excels at filing-day awareness — alerts when watchlisted committees file, period-over-period totals, and aggregate ZIP maps. Many desks use both.
Not affiliated with the Federal Election Commission.