Funding profile
John Thune
Republican · Senator from South Dakota
Career totals · 6 elections · 2002–2028
$66.4 million
raised by Thune’s campaigns, everything from 2002 to 2028 added together.
22%
of it came from organized groups rather than from people giving on their own: at least $14.3 million from PACs, plus donations that organizations collected and directed.
$200,000
was spent about Thune 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 Thune on FEC.gov
Where the money came from
Everything Thune’s campaigns have reported raising, split by who gave it.
- Individual donorsMoney given by people, in their own name.61%$40.3 million
- Political action committeesOrganized groups: company-run committees, unions, trade associations.21%$14.3 million
- Other sourcesParty transfers, the candidate's own money, loans and smaller categories.18%$11.9 million
Money bundled through organizations
Not every “individual” donation arrives on its own. An organization can collect checks from its members, already earmarked for Thune, and deliver them in a bundle. The law counts that as individual money, but the organization still chose where it went.
$42,000
reached Thune this way, <1% of everything they raised from individuals. Each donation came from a real person. The organization picked who got it.
- NORPACA New Jersey-based pro-Israel PAC that bundles member donations for candidates of both parties.$42,000
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.
- Corporation62%$929,000
- Trade association20%$299,000
- Labor union1%$20,000
- Membership organization4%$65,000
- Co-operative2%$26,000
- Corporation without capital stock<1%$7,000
- Unclassified11%$165,000
Which industries
- Banking & finance45% · $56,000
- Real estate & construction10% · $13,000
- Technology & telecoms8% · $10,000
- Other37% · $47,000
The FEC records that a committee is a corporation; it does not record its industry. Those labels are ours, kept in a published list anyone can check. Where we have not labeled a giver we say “Other” rather than guessing.
Largest committee givers
- 12024 Thune Republican Senate Victory$46,000
- 2Mortgage Bankers Association$21,000
- 3The Goldman Sachs Group Inc$15,000
- 4Black & Veatch Corporation$15,000
- 5American Council of Engineering CompaniesThe trade association for engineering firms.$13,000
Show all 10 giversShow fewer
- 6Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc$12,000
- 7Rounds$11,000
- 8International Association of Fire Fighters$10,000
- 9Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.$10,000
- 10American Gas Association$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. Thune has no legal control over any of it.
This is not a donation. Nobody gave this money to Thune. It was spent on advertising about Thune, and money spent against a candidate is plainly not funding them. So it never gets added to the figures above.
$200,000
has been spent for or against Thune by outside groups. $197,000 supported Thune; $2,338 opposed Thune.
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
$197,000Ads urging people to vote for this member. Still not their money, and they cannot direct how it is spent.
- AMERICAN ENERGY ACTION FUND$102,000
- NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA POLITICAL VICTORY FUND$95,000
- NORTHWESTERN ENERGY EMPLOYEES PAC$500
- NATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$350
Show all 5 groupsShow fewer
- SOUTH DAKOTAN FOR POLITICAL INTEGRITY$56
Spent opposing
$2,338Ads urging people to vote against this member. This money was spent to defeat them.
- REALLY AMERICAN PAC$1,476
- EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY ACTION FUND$862
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2028in progress | $8.3 million | $1.3 million 16% | none | FEC |
| 2022 | $13.2 million | $4.2 million 32% | $107,000 | FEC |
| 2016 | $10.6 million | $3.8 million 36% | $51 | FEC |
| 2010 | $12.6 million | $2.4 million 19% | $93,000 | FEC |
| 2004 | $16.3 million | $1.2 million 7% | none | FEC |
| 2002 | $5.5 million | $1.3 million 24% | 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.