Back to the library

Funding profile

Julia Brownley

Democrat · Representative for California’s 26th district

Career totals · 8 elections · 20122026

$18.4 million

raised by Brownley’s campaigns, everything from 2012 to 2026 added together.

36%

of it came from organized groups rather than from people giving on their own: at least $6.5 million from PACs, plus donations that organizations collected and directed.

$4.8 million

was spent about Brownley 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 Brownley on FEC.gov

Where the money came from

Everything Brownley’s campaigns have reported raising, split by who gave it.

$18.4 millionraised
  • Individual donorsMoney given by people, in their own name.61%$11.3 million
  • Political action committeesOrganized groups: company-run committees, unions, trade associations.35%$6.4 million
  • Other sourcesParty transfers, the candidate's own money, loans and smaller categories.4%$716,000
Federal Election Commission filings across 8 elections. Percentages may not total 100 because each is rounded.

Money bundled through organizations

Not every “individual” donation arrives on its own. An organization can collect checks from its members, already earmarked for Brownley, and deliver them in a bundle. The law counts that as individual money, but the organization still chose where it went.

$145,000

reached Brownley this way, 1% of everything they raised from individuals. Each donation came from a real person. The organization picked who got it.

  • JStreetPAC$93,000
  • AIPACThe American Israel Public Affairs Committee's political arm. It backs candidates of both parties it considers strong supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship.$40,000
  • EMILY's ListA group that works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights, and one of the oldest donation bundlers in politics.$12,000

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.

  • Corporation26%$287,000
  • Trade association16%$175,000
  • Labor union32%$350,000
  • Membership organization14%$156,000
  • Co-operative2%$27,000
  • Corporation without capital stock1%$7,500
  • Unclassified8%$89,000

Which industries

  • Health & pharmaceuticals50% · $15,000
  • Real estate & construction50% · $15,000

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

  1. 1Transport Workers Union of AmericaOther · Labor union$20,000
  2. 2American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Afl-CioLabor · Labor union$20,000
  3. 3American Crystal Sugar CompayAgriculture & food · Co-operative$20,000
  4. 4American Academy of Pediatric DentistryOther · Membership organization$18,000
  5. 5National Air Traffic Controllers AssociationOther · Labor union$16,000
Show all 10 giversShow fewer
  1. 6American Society of AnesthesiologistsHealth & pharmaceuticals · Trade association$15,000
  2. 7American Federation of Gov't EmployeesOther · Labor union$15,000
  3. 8Amalgamated Transit UnionOther · Labor union$15,000
  4. 9American Association for Justice (Aaj)Legal & lobbying · Membership organization$15,000
  5. 10International Union of Operating Engineers Local No. 12Other · Labor union$15,000

“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.

Their money and their votes, side by side

For each industry that gave to Brownley: the money, then the bills they voted on in that industry’s area of law. The Library of Congress assigns each bill’s subject, not us, so nothing here is picked to make a point.

This is not evidence that money bought a vote. People often donate to politicians who already agree with them. We show what was given and how Brownley voted; the judgment is yours.

Health & pharmaceuticals$15,000 given

Brownley voted on 5 bills in this area. The 3 most substantive are listed first.

  • H R 2493On Motion to Suspend the Rules and PassThis bill reauthorizes through FY2030 grant programs administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) that provide funding to health care service providers and related entities in rural areas.No vote
  • H R 2483On PassageSUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025 This act reauthorizes and revises programs and activities relating to addressing substance use disorders, overdoses, and mental health.Yes
  • H R 4541On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as AmendedThis bill reauthorizes and revises programs of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that support services and education addressing breast and cervical cancer.Yes
Show 2 more bills with full summariesShow fewer
  • H R 6703On PassageLower Health Care Premiums for All Americans ActNo
  • H R 498On PassageThis bill prohibits federal Medicaid payment for specified gender transition procedures for individuals under the age of 18. The bill defines these procedures to mean those that are intended to change the body of an individual to no longer correspond to the individual's biological sex (male or female), including specified surgeries, implants, and medications (e.g., hormones).No

We do not score these or say which way a vote favored an industry, because that would be our opinion dressed up as a finding. Each bill links to the chamber’s own roll-call record. Industries where fewer than three bills came to a vote are left out, because a handful of votes cannot show a pattern.

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. Brownley has no legal control over any of it.

This is not a donation. Nobody gave this money to Brownley. It was spent on advertising about Brownley, and money spent against a candidate is plainly not funding them. So it never gets added to the figures above.

$4.8 million

has been spent for or against Brownley by outside groups. $1.9 million supported Brownley; $2.9 million opposed Brownley.

Largest outside spenders

Summed across 7 elections, using the Commission's aggregated totals so amended filings and 24-hour notices are not double-counted.

Spent supporting

$1 million

Ads urging people to vote for this member. Still not their money, and they cannot direct how it is spent.

  • HOUSE MAJORITY PACA super PAC aligned with House Democratic leadership, spending to win or hold Democratic House seats.$608,000
  • WOMEN VOTE!EMILY's List's super PAC, spending independently to support Democratic women who back abortion rights.$237,000
  • VETERANS AID PAC$198,000

Spent opposing

$2.8 million

Ads urging people to vote against this member. This money was spent to defeat them.

  • AMERICAN FUTURE FUND$1.3 million
  • CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP FUND$490,000
  • NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE$467,000
  • US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE$400,000
Show all 5 groupsShow fewer
  • AMERICAN ACTION NETWORK INC$142,000

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.

ElectionRaisedFrom PACsOutside spending
2026in progress$593,000$311,000 52%none
2024$1.6 million$756,000 47%$230,000
2022$2.4 million$1 million 42%$503,000
2020$2 million$721,000 36%$62,000
2018$2.6 million$906,000 35%$24,000
2016$3.4 million$1.1 million 31%$4,271
2014$3.6 million$1.1 million 31%$1.4 million
2012$2.2 million$506,000 23%$2.6 million

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.