Winners & losers

Who backed the winners in 2020, and who lost the most

Every super PAC, donor and PAC ranked by how much of its money ended up on the winning side. A dollar counts as a win if it backed the candidate who won or attacked one who lost. Win rates count called races only.

Biggest loser

$134M

Senate Majority PAC, on losing sides (42% win rate)

Biggest winner

$164M

Senate Leadership Fund, on winning sides (56% win rate)

Outside money on losers

$1.47B

48% of $3.07B in called races

Races called

471 / 471

Final results

Super PACs and outside groups

Who backed the winners, who wasted the most

Groups that spent on their own to help or attack candidates, with at least $1M in called races. Ranked by dollars on their side.
All super PACs →
✓ Backed the winner or attacked the loser ✗ Backed the loser or attacked the winner Result not matched

Backed the winners

  1. 1Senate Leadership Fund$164M
    Backed by Senate Republican leadership56% win rate · of $293M called
  2. 2Priorities USA Action$118M
    Backed by Pro-Biden super PAC85% win rate · of $139M called
  3. 3Congressional Leadership Fund$111M
    Backed by House Republican leadership84% win rate · of $132M called
  4. 4Future Forward (FF PAC)$104M
    Backed by Pro-Harris super PAC89% win rate · of $116M called
  5. 5NRSC$72M
    Backed by Senate Republicans' party committee59% win rate · of $121M called
  6. 6NRCC$71M
    Backed by House Republicans' party committee92% win rate · of $78M called
  7. 7Independence USA PAC$56M
    Backed by Michael Bloomberg100% win rate · of $56M called
  8. 8Ab PAC$52M
    86% win rate · of $61M called
  9. 9Unite the Country$38M
    97% win rate · of $39M called
  10. 10The Lincoln Project$36M
    73% win rate · of $49M called

Backed the losers

  1. 1Senate Majority PAC$134M
    Backed by Senate Democratic leadership42% win rate · of $230M called
  2. 2America First Action$134M
    Backed by Pro-Trump super PAC0% win rate · of $134M called
  3. 3House Majority PAC$113M
    Backed by House Democratic leadership18% win rate · of $138M called
  4. 4Preserve America PAC$103M
    Backed by Sheldon and Miriam Adelson0% win rate · of $103M called
  5. 5DSCC$77M
    Backed by Senate Democrats' party committee16% win rate · of $91M called
  6. 6DCCC$75M
    Backed by House Democrats' party committee17% win rate · of $91M called
  7. 7American Crossroads$48M
    39% win rate · of $79M called
  8. 8Peachtree PAC$38M
    0% win rate · of $38M called
  9. 9Club for Growth Action$29M
    50% win rate · of $57M called
  10. 10Women Vote!$27M
    21% win rate · of $34M called

Networks

Groups added up by who is behind them

Some backers split their spending across several super PACs. Here each network's groups are added together, so it ranks as one.

Backed the winners

  1. 1Democratic machine$445M
    Senate Majority PAC · House Majority PAC · Priorities USA Action · Future Forward (FF PAC) · DSCC · DCCC · Independence USA PAC · Georgia Honor50% win rate · of $880M called

    8 groups combined

Backed the losers

  1. 1Republican machine$485M
    Senate Leadership Fund · Congressional Leadership Fund · America First Action · NRSC · Preserve America PAC · NRCC · Americans for Prosperity Action · Restoration PAC48% win rate · of $933M called

    8 groups combined

People, companies and dark money

The donors behind them

Each donor's money is split the way the groups they funded spent theirs. At least $1M in called races.
All donors →

Backed the winners

  1. 1Michael Bloomberg$91M
    Individual · media79% win rate · of $115M called

    Gave $142M in all

  2. 2Future Forward USA Action$42M
    Dark money89% win rate · of $47M called

    Gave $61M in all

  3. 3Dustin Moskovitz$33M
    Individual · tech87% win rate · of $38M called

    Gave $50M in all

  4. 4Priorities USA$27M
    Company / nonprofit86% win rate · of $32M called

    Gave $34M in all

  5. 5Ken Griffin$23M
    Individual · finance54% win rate · of $44M called

    Gave $66M in all

  6. 6Sixteen Thirty Fund$23M
    Dark money73% win rate · of $31M called

    Gave $47M in all

  7. 7America Votes$23M
    Company / nonprofit70% win rate · of $33M called

    Gave $52M in all

  8. 8American Action Network$20M
    Dark money84% win rate · of $24M called

    Gave $30M in all

  9. 9Stephen Schwarzman$15M
    Individual · finance53% win rate · of $29M called

    Gave $44M in all

  10. 10Tom Steyer$11M
    Individual · finance89% win rate · of $12M called

    Gave $52M in all

Backed the losers

  1. 1Miriam Adelson$58M
    Individual · vice34% win rate · of $87M called

    Gave $108M in all

  2. 2Sheldon Adelson$58M
    Individual · vice34% win rate · of $87M called

    Gave $108M in all

  3. 3Richard Uihlein$38M
    Individual · agri25% win rate · of $51M called

    Gave $65M in all

  4. 4Timothy Mellon$28M
    Individual · finance46% win rate · of $52M called

    Gave $70M in all

  5. 5Majority Forward$26M
    Dark money35% win rate · of $40M called

    Gave $61M in all

  6. 6America First Policies, Inc.$19M
    Company / nonprofit0% win rate · of $19M called

    Gave $22M in all

  7. 7Linda Mcmahon$14M
    Individual6% win rate · of $15M called

    Gave $18M in all

  8. 8Bernie Marcus$13M
    Individual · agri25% win rate · of $17M called

    Gave $20M in all

  9. 9Duty and Honor$12M
    Company / nonprofit26% win rate · of $16M called

    Gave $26M in all

  10. 10Jeff Yass$11M
    Individual · finance48% win rate · of $21M called

    Gave $30M in all

PAC checks

PACs that paid candidates directly

Checks straight to campaigns, at least $100K to called races. Most PAC money goes to incumbents, who usually win, so high win rates are normal here and a losing record stands out.
All PACs →

Backed the winners

  1. 1National Association of Realtors Political Action Committee$3.6M
    Membership · California Real Estate Political Action Committee95% win rate · of $3.7M called

    429 of 449 called candidates won

  2. 2National Beer Wholesalers Association Political Action Committee$2.8M
    Trade group · National Beer Wholesalers Association96% win rate · of $2.9M called

    383 of 399 called candidates won

  3. 3Comcast Corporation & Nbcuniversal Political Action Committee - Federal$2.4M
    Corporate · Comcast Corporation97% win rate · of $2.5M called

    353 of 363 called candidates won

  4. 4Culac the PAC of Credit Union National Association$2.4M
    Trade group · Credit Union National Association94% win rate · of $2.6M called

    382 of 403 called candidates won

  5. 5American Crystal Sugar Company Political Action Committee$2.4M
    Corporate94% win rate · of $2.5M called

    281 of 303 called candidates won

  6. 6American Bankers Association PAC (Bankpac)$2.3M
    Trade group · Arkansas Bankers Association PAC Inc.96% win rate · of $2.4M called

    322 of 337 called candidates won

  7. 7At&T Inc./Warnermedia LLC Federal Political Action Committee (At&T/Warnermedia Federal PAC)$2.3M
    Corporate · At&T Inc.97% win rate · of $2.4M called

    352 of 362 called candidates won

  8. 8National Automobile Dealers Association Political Action Committee$2.1M
    Trade group · National Automobile Dealers Association95% win rate · of $2.3M called

    294 of 315 called candidates won

  9. 9National Air Traffic Controllers Association PAC$2.0M
    Union · National Air Traffic Controllers Association95% win rate · of $2.1M called

    328 of 347 called candidates won

  10. 10Majority Committee PAC--Mc PAC$2.0M
    Leadership PAC · Mccarthy Victory Fund85% win rate · of $2.3M called

    197 of 233 called candidates won

Backed the losers

  1. 1Winred$8.8M
    Super PAC43% win rate · of $16M called

    147 of 205 called candidates won

  2. 2Texas Democratic Party$630K
    Party · Dollars for Democrats20% win rate · of $784K called

    9 of 27 called candidates won

  3. 3Senate Conservatives Fund$616K
    Other12% win rate · of $698K called

    7 of 10 called candidates won

  4. 4DSCC$446K
    Party · Colorado Senate Victory 201625% win rate · of $595K called

    3 of 12 called candidates won

  5. 5Elect Democratic Women$439K
    Other45% win rate · of $795K called

    43 of 99 called candidates won

  6. 6Cory for Colorado$414K
    Other0% win rate · of $414K called

    0 of 1 called candidates won

  7. 7DCCC$400K
    Party43% win rate · of $698K called

    68 of 120 called candidates won

  8. 8Cherpac$316K
    Leadership PAC44% win rate · of $565K called

    41 of 90 called candidates won

  9. 9Chc Bold PAC$301K
    Other46% win rate · of $557K called

    53 of 108 called candidates won

  10. 10Women's Political Committee Federal$295K
    Other45% win rate · of $540K called

    28 of 65 called candidates won

How this is scored: money is matched to the candidate it backed or attacked, then to the race result. Primary spending counts as a win if the backed candidate made the November ballot. Money in uncalled races, and money we could not match to a result, is shown in the bar but left out of the win rate. Full methodology.