Funding profile
Edward J. Markey
Democrat · Senator from Massachusetts
Career totals · 4 elections · 1984–2026
$36.9 million
raised by Markey’s campaigns, everything from 1984 to 2026 added together.
12%
of it came from organized groups rather than from people giving on their own: at least $4.3 million from PACs, plus donations that organizations collected and directed.
$8 million
was spent about Markey by outside groups. These are ads for or against them that their campaign cannot control, and none of it is part of the money above.
Every number on this page comes from Federal Election Commission filings, read on August 24, 2026. An election still under way keeps raising money, so its figure will have grown since. Check Markey on FEC.gov
Where the money came from
Everything Markey’s campaigns have reported raising, split by who gave it.
- Individual donorsMoney given by people, in their own name.75%$27.5 million
- Political action committeesOrganized groups: company-run committees, unions, trade associations.12%$4.3 million
- Other sourcesParty transfers, the candidate's own money, loans and smaller categories.14%$5.1 million
Money bundled through organizations
Not every “individual” donation arrives on its own. An organization can collect checks from its members, already earmarked for Markey, and deliver them in a bundle. The law counts that as individual money, but the organization still chose where it went.
$19,000
reached Markey this way, <1% of everything they raised from individuals. Each donation came from a real person. The organization picked who got it.
- JStreetPAC$19,000
We can only count the organizations we have measured, so the real figure could be higher than this, never lower. Bundling is legal and widely used, and appearing here is not evidence of wrongdoing.
Who gave the most
Committee contributions from the 2024 and 2026 election periods, grouped by how the FEC classifies each giver. This covers a slice of the career total, and giving to a campaign is legal and ordinary.
- Corporation3%$18,000
- Trade association9%$61,000
- Labor union27%$193,000
- Membership organization6%$44,000
- Unclassified55%$389,000
Largest committee givers
- 1Unite Here$19,000
- 2Turquoise PAC$15,000
- 3Van Hollen$10,000
- 4United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America$10,000
- 5Transport Workers Union of America$10,000
Show all 10 giversShow fewer
- 6Air Line Pilots Association$10,000
- 7Int'l Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers$10,000
- 8American Association for Justice (Aaj)$10,000
- 9Kaine$10,000
- 10Forward Together PAC$10,000
“Unclassified” means the FEC records no organization type for that committee, which usually means a leadership PAC. We show it as unclassified rather than guessing which industry it belongs to.
Money spent about this member
Outside groups, usually super PACs, may spend without limit on ads for or against a candidate, as long as they do not coordinate with the campaign. Markey has no legal control over any of it.
This is not a donation. Nobody gave this money to Markey. It was spent on advertising about Markey, and money spent against a candidate is plainly not funding them. So it never gets added to the figures above.
$8 million
has been spent for or against Markey by outside groups. $6.2 million supported Markey; $1.9 million opposed Markey.
Largest outside spenders
Summed across 3 elections, using the Commission's aggregated totals so amended filings and 24-hour notices are not double-counted.
Spent supporting
$5.8 millionAds urging people to vote for this member. Still not their money, and they cannot direct how it is spent.
- UNITED FOR MASSACHUSETTS$3.6 million
- LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS INCThe political arm of the League of Conservation Voters, an environmental group that backs candidates it rates well on climate and conservation votes.$815,000
- SEIU COPE (SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION COMMITTEE ON POLITICAL EDUCATION)$570,000
- LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS VICTORY FUNDThe political arm of the League of Conservation Voters, an environmental group that backs candidates it rates well on climate and conservation votes.$366,000
Show all 6 groupsShow fewer
- ENVIRONMENT AMERICA ACTION FUND$300,000
- CE ACTION COMMITTEE$188,000
Spent opposing
$1.8 millionAds urging people to vote against this member. This money was spent to defeat them.
- NEW LEADERSHIP PAC$1.1 million
- AMERICANS FOR PROGRESSIVE ACTION$625,000
Election by election
The career figures above are the sum of these elections. Each row links to the Commission’s page for that election, where the numbers match line for line.
| Election | Raised | From PACs | Outside spending | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026in progress | $8.1 million | $729,000 9% | $46,000 | FEC |
| 2020 | $14.5 million | $1.4 million 10% | $5.1 million | FEC |
| 2014 | $13.9 million | $2.2 million 16% | $2.9 million | FEC |
| 1984 | $524,000 | $0 0% | none | FEC |
Raised is everything the campaign took in for that election. From PACs is the slice of it given by political action committees. Outside spending is what other groups spent on ads about the race, for and against—it is not part of “Raised”. An election marked in progress is still raising money, so its figures are not final.
We never publish the names of individual donors, and anything we cannot source stays off the page. The methodology explains every such choice.