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Wondering who’s shaping our politics behind the scenes? Every week, OpenSecrets breaks down the real stories about money and influence in Washington. Sign up for our newsletter and get the facts opensecrets.org/newsletter/sig…

This May we are running a monthlong campaign to support the urgent mission of protecting our democracy and First Amendment work. We expose who funds our politics - help us keep that watchdog work strong. Donate to help us reach $25k in matching funds: action.opensecrets.org/a/donate

“This is how the system works and this is how industries try to wield their influence,” said @BrendanGlavin, director of insights @OpenSecretsDC. “It’s about letting people know that they appreciate your support, and that there are people out there who are behind your position.”

Chart of the Week: Rep. @AOC is the fundraising frontrunner with $27.5 million to date this cycle. @SpeakerJohnson and Minority Leader @RepJeffries trail behind, and representatives from New York and Louisiana hold four of the top 10 fundraising positions.

State of Disclosure: Bill Young of Tennessee’s campaign finance division said, “It’s all about transparency,” adding that state disclosure lets the press and public hold officials accountable. Watch the full interview: opensecrets.org/news/2026/05/t…

Big announcement! 🎉 New site updates are LIVE: '25-'26 campaign data, novel ways to view data on elected officials, and major updates to state dashboards and elections. Dive into the new data: opensecrets.org

OpenSecrets has appointed Rachel Loeffler & @PeterOsnos to its board. Their expertise in product development and journalism will help strengthen our data & reporting as we scale for the '26 cycle + beyond. Read more: opensecrets.org/news/2026/04/o…

Acting AG Todd Blanche reclassified state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I to III. While not legalization, it eases rules and creates big tax breaks for industry players. We looked at who is spending on K Street to influence marijuana policy.

Following his primary win, @jamestalarico’s donor base went national. Out-of-state donors doubled in the final six weeks of Q1 & made up 46% of funds after 2/11, helping fuel a $27 M quarter. Read more: opensecrets.org/news/2026/04/t…

Sen. Jon @ossoff raised $57.3M in Q1, about 8.5x the next candidate. His $ is mainly small-dollar donations, while opponents @repbuddycarter, @mikecollinsga, & @derekdooleyga rely on loans & large-dollar donations. Read more: opensecrets.org/news/2026/04/s…

Maine Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the Senate race Thursday, ending her primary race against fellow Democrat Graham Platner. Mills ended the first quarter of 2026 with just over a $1 million in his campaign account, compared to Platner's $2.7 million.

New monthly quiz: April recap ➡️ Easter lobbying, scandal-tainted PACs & a dark money suit over Maine super PAC limits. Take the quiz📰📚: opensecrets.org/news/2026/04/q…

Public financing is growing: CA, HI & MD have proposals this year to expand public financing programs; a dozen states already use them. Read more: opensecrets.org/news/2026/04/t…

State of Disclosure: Amanda Haines of the NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission @nj_votes on state campaign finance enforcement. Watch the full interview: opensecrets.org/news/2026/04/t…

Dark money tied to Leonard Leo is part of the suit that challenged Maine’s $5,000 super PAC cap and is making its way through the courts ⚖️. Read more: opensecrets.org/news/2026/04/h…

CHART OF THE WEEK : Billionaire money looms large in the CA gov race. @TomSteyer has contributed $133.8M of his own cash, more than two thirds of contributions to campaign committees.

Earth Day 🌎: Our 2025 climate report finds oil and gas spent about $3.1B on federal lobbying from 1998-2025 versus roughly $486.8M for environmental groups. #EarthDay Read more: opensecrets.org/news/issues/cl…

Check it out: @TheWebbyAwards announced that OpenSecrets won a Webby & a People's Voice Award! Check out our work for "Websites & Mobile Sites - Government & Associations" in the Winners Gallery: bit.ly/4eBJjYw

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), who has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, resigned today. Her campaign committee is in debt to the turn of $4.4 million. fec.gov/data/committee…

🗳️ As the nation focuses on control of Congress in the midterms, voters in AK, CA & MO will also decide 4 ballot measures covering dark money disclosure, contribution limits, public financing & bans on foreign contributions. Learn more: opensecrets.org/news/2026/04/2…

As @USPS warns it may be insolvent by 2027 and @amazon is cutting USPS shipments, @FedEx and @UPS increased federal lobbying, spending nearly $20 million in 2025. Read more: opensecrets.org/news/2026/04/a…