Politician
Steve Daines
Republican · Montana · ran 1 time since 2020, won 1 · incumbent
FEC candidate S2MT00096
Steve Daines (Republican) raised $32M for the 2020 Montana Senate race, $3.3M of it from PACs, and outside groups spent $6.7M for and $46M against them (FEC filings with varying coverage dates; the most common larger-campaign cutoff is Dec 31, 2020). They won.
Raised, all cycles
$32M
2020; counted once per cycle
From PAC checks
10%
$3.3M from corporations, trade groups, unions and politicians
Outside money for
$6.7M
Super PACs and party groups helping
Outside money against
$46M
Spent attacking them
Every run
Each election and its result. Campaign receipts cover the whole cycle and can appear in both regular and special contests; they count once in the totals above.
| Cycle | Race | Raised | PAC share | Outside for / against | Google ads | All money | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Montana Senate | $32M | 10% | $6.7M / $46M | $2.0M | $85M | ✓ Won |
Who wrote the checks
The PACs that gave the most across every run, and what kind of money it is.
Corporate $1.5MTrade group $702KSuper PAC $610KLeadership PAC $387KOther $256KMembership $243KUnion $61KParty $50K
- WinredSuper PAC$588K
- NRSCParty$45K
- Senate Conservatives FundOther$14K
- Susan B Anthony List Inc. Candidate FundOtherLobbyist PAC$11K
- Exxon Mobil Corporation Political Action Committee (Exxonmobil PAC)CorporateLobbyist PAC$10K
- Nextera Energy, Inc. Political Action CommitteeCorporateLobbyist PAC$10K
- National Beer Wholesalers Association Political Action CommitteeTrade groupLobbyist PAC$10K
- Altria Group, Inc. Political Action Committee (Altriapac)CorporateLobbyist PAC$10K
Outside money, for and against
Super PACs and party groups that spent the most on these races.
- DSCCagainst $18M
- Senate Majority PACagainst $16M
- Lcv Victory Fundagainst $4.3M
- Americans for Prosperity Actionfor $3.2M
- Montana Hunters and Anglers Leadership Fundagainst $2.0M
Funding and votes
How their votes align with industry funding
Across 20 industry-vote comparisons with at least $10K in traced funding, they voted the industry's way 18 times (90%). This is a retrospective comparison using covered 2020–2026 runs; some money arrived after the vote. A vote can appear for multiple industries. Unknown coverage is excluded. “With industry” means its stated preferred side, and does not establish causation.
| Vote | Industry | Their money from it | Voted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most-favored-nation drug pricingSenate · 2026 · 49–49 | Pharma and health care wanted nay | $305K | Nay · with industry |
| Block Israel arms sale (Apr 2026)Senate · 2026 · 40–59 | Pro-Israel groups wanted nay | $11K | Nay · with industry |
| ACA enhanced premium tax creditsSenate · 2025 · 51–48 | Insurance wanted yea | $106K | Present / not voting |
| ANWR coastal plain leasingSenate · 2025 · 49–45 | Oil, gas and coal wanted yea | $601K | Yea · with industry |
| Block Israel arms sale (Jul 2025)Senate · 2025 · 24–73 | Pro-Israel groups wanted nay | $11K | Nay · with industry |
| One Big Beautiful Bill ActSenate · 2025 · 50–50 | Oil, gas and coal wanted yeaWall Street and hedge funds wanted yea | $601K$575K | Yea · with industryYea · with industry |
| Halve Medicare drug prices (Sanders)Senate · 2025 · 47–53 | Pharma and health care wanted nay | $305K | Nay · with industry |
| Strike the AI moratoriumSenate · 2025 · 99–1 | Tech and AI wanted nay | $101K | Yea · against |
| Crypto corruption amendmentSenate · 2025 · 47–53 | Crypto wanted nay | $60 | Nay · with industry |
| GENIUS Act (stablecoins)Senate · 2025 · 68–30 | Crypto wanted yea | $60 | Yea · with industry |
| California clean cars waiver repealSenate · 2025 · 51–44 | Oil, gas and coal wanted yea | $601K | Yea · with industry |
| OCC bank merger rule repealSenate · 2025 · 52–47 | Wall Street and hedge funds wanted yea | $575K | Yea · with industry |
| CFPB overdraft rule repealSenate · 2025 · 52–48 | Wall Street and hedge funds wanted yea | $575K | Yea · with industry |
| IRS DeFi broker rule repealSenate · 2025 · 70–28 | Crypto wanted yea | $60 | Yea · with industry |
| Methane waste emissions charge repealSenate · 2025 · 52–47 | Oil, gas and coal wanted yea | $601K | Yea · with industry |
| Block Israel arms sale (Nov 2024)Senate · 2024 · 18–79 | Pro-Israel groups wanted nay | $11K | Nay · with industry |
| SAB 121 repealSenate · 2024 · 60–38 | Crypto wanted yea | $60 | Yea · with industry |
| Joint-employer rule repealSenate · 2024 · 50–48 | Labor unions wanted nay | $114K | Yea · against |
| NDAA FY2024Senate · 2023 · 87–13 | Defense contractors wanted yea | $40K | Yea · with industry |
| Pistol brace rule repealSenate · 2023 · 49–50 | Gun lobby wanted yea | $52K | Yea · with industry |
| Inflation Reduction ActSenate · 2022 · 50–50 | Oil, gas and coal wanted nayPharma and health care wanted nayWall Street and hedge funds wanted nay | $601K$305K$575K | Nay · with industryNay · with industryNay · with industry |
| Safer Communities Act (post-Uvalde)Senate · 2022 · 65–33 | Gun lobby wanted nay | $52K | Nay · with industry |
Constituents vs. funders
Voted the way most of their constituents wanted on 0 of 3 key votes (0%)
On 3 votes, industries that gave them $10K+ before the vote wanted the opposite of what most of their constituents wanted. They sided with the funders 3 times and with their constituents 0. Constituent views come from the Cooperative Election Study, a survey of about 60,000 adults a year. A side counts as what constituents wanted only when it leads by more than the margin of error; closer results are shown as split. Party explains most votes, and none of this shows that money changed a vote.
| Vote | Their constituents | Their funders | Voted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most-favored-nation drug pricingSenate · 2026 | 84% support ±7Montana · wanted Yea · CES 2022 | $305K Pharma and health care wanted nay | NayFunders over voters |
| ACA enhanced premium tax creditsSenate · 2025 | 45% support ±9Montana · split · CES 2024 · related question | $106K Insurance wanted yea | Present / not votingDid not vote |
| ANWR coastal plain leasingSenate · 2025 | 42% support ±9Montana · split · CES 2024 · related question | $601K Oil, gas and coal wanted yea | YeaVoters split |
| One Big Beautiful Bill ActSenate · 2025 | 56% support ±9Montana · split · CES 2024 · related question | $601K Oil, gas and coal wanted yea$575K Wall Street and hedge funds wanted yea | YeaVoters split |
| Halve Medicare drug prices (Sanders)Senate · 2025 | 84% support ±7Montana · wanted Yea · CES 2022 · related question | $305K Pharma and health care wanted nay | NayFunders over voters |
| Inflation Reduction ActSenate · 2022 | 57% support ±10Montana · split · CES 2022 | $601K Oil, gas and coal wanted nay$305K Pharma and health care wanted nay$575K Wall Street and hedge funds wanted nay | NayVoters split |
| Safer Communities Act (post-Uvalde)Senate · 2022 | 81% support ±7Montana · wanted Yea · CES 2024 | $52K Gun lobby wanted nay | NayFunders over voters |
The revolving door
1 former aide now lobbying
Lobbyists who list a job in Steve Daines's office among the government positions they held, and who they now work for. A listed former position does not establish contact with that office.
Jason ThielmanFormer congressional staff
Chief of Staff, Transition Aide, Rep. Steve Daines; District Director, Rep. Marilyn Musgrave
Now lobbies for Charter Communications, INC, · via S2r, LLC
Figures are the candidate's principal committees as filed with the FEC, cycle by cycle. See About the data.
Questions people ask
- Who funded Steve Daines's 2020 campaign?
- Steve Daines (Republican) raised $32M for the 2020 Montana Senate race, $3.3M of it from PACs, and outside groups spent $6.7M for and $46M against them (FEC filings with varying coverage dates; the most common larger-campaign cutoff is Dec 31, 2020). They won.
- Which PACs gave the most to Steve Daines?
- Winred ($588K), NRSC ($45K), Senate Conservatives Fund ($14K), Susan B Anthony List Inc. Candidate Fund ($11K), Exxon Mobil Corporation Political Action Committee (Exxonmobil PAC) ($10K) in 2020.
- Which super PACs spent on Steve Daines's race?
- DSCC ($18M against), Senate Majority PAC ($16M against), Lcv Victory Fund ($4.3M against) in 2020.