Funding profile
Lauren Underwood
Democrat · Representative for Illinois’s 14th district
Career totals · 5 elections · 2018–2026
$26.3 million
raised by Underwood’s campaigns, everything from 2018 to 2026 added together.
13%
of it came from organized groups rather than from people giving on their own: at least $3.5 million from PACs, plus donations that organizations collected and directed.
$3.8 million
was spent about Underwood 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 Underwood on FEC.gov
Where the money came from
Everything Underwood’s campaigns have reported raising, split by who gave it.
- Individual donorsMoney given by people, in their own name.80%$21.1 million
- Political action committeesOrganized groups: company-run committees, unions, trade associations.12%$3.1 million
- Other sourcesParty transfers, the candidate's own money, loans and smaller categories.8%$2.1 million
Money bundled through organizations
Not every “individual” donation arrives on its own. An organization can collect checks from its members, already earmarked for Underwood, and deliver them in a bundle. The law counts that as individual money, but the organization still chose where it went.
$374,000
reached Underwood this way, 2% of everything they raised from individuals. Each donation came from a real person. The organization picked who got it.
- EMILY's ListA group that works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights, and one of the oldest donation bundlers in politics.$374,000
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%$28,000
- Trade association19%$180,000
- Labor union34%$317,000
- Membership organization17%$158,000
- Co-operative2%$20,000
- Corporation without capital stock<1%$2,000
- Unclassified24%$225,000
Largest committee givers
- 1American Association of Nurse Anesthetists$25,000
- 2American Association of Nurse Practitioners$20,000
- 3American Nurses Association$20,000
- 4National Association of Realtors$20,000
- 5International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers$20,000
Show all 10 giversShow fewer
- 6Local 881 United Food and Commercial Workers Political Action Fund$20,000
- 7United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America$20,000
- 8International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers$20,000
- 9American Federation of Teachers, Afl-Cio Committee on Political Education$20,000
- 10American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Afl-Cio$20,000
“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 Underwood: 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 Underwood voted; the judgment is yours.
Labor—$15,000 given
Underwood voted on 7 bills in this area. The 3 most substantive are listed first.
- H R 2262On PassageThis bill modifies the definition of hours worked under the Fair Labor Standards Act to exclude certain voluntary training that occurs outside an employee's regular working hours.No
- H R 2988On PassageProtecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act This bill modifies the requirements for fiduciaries of employer-sponsored retirement plans.No
- H R 1156On PassagePandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act This bill extends from 5 to 10 years the statute of limitations for federal criminal charges or civil enforcement actions for fraud related to several unemployment insurance programs that were established during the COVID-19 pandemic.No
Show 4 more bills with full summariesShow fewer
- H R 5408On PassageThis bill establishes mandatory deadlines for parties negotiating an initial collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and provides for mediation and arbitration to finalize CBAs. Under the bill, CBA negotiations must begin within 10 days after an employer receives a written request from a newly recognized or certified bargaining representative.Yes
- H R 2550On PassageThis bill nullifies the Executive Order titled Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs (issued on March 27, 2025), which excludes specified executive agencies and subdivisions from the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute.Yes
- H R 2270On Motion to RecommitThis bill excludes the value of employer-funded child or dependent care from being used in calculating an eligible employee's overtime pay.Yes
- H R 2312On Motion to RecommitThis bill modifies the definition of a tipped employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to exclude consideration of an employee's duties when determining if the employee is a tipped employee.Yes
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. Underwood has no legal control over any of it.
This is not a donation. Nobody gave this money to Underwood. It was spent on advertising about Underwood, and money spent against a candidate is plainly not funding them. So it never gets added to the figures above.
$3.8 million
has been spent for or against Underwood by outside groups. $2.8 million supported Underwood; $970,000 opposed Underwood.
Largest outside spenders
Summed across 5 elections, using the Commission's aggregated totals so amended filings and 24-hour notices are not double-counted.
Spent supporting
$2.5 millionAds urging people to vote for this member. Still not their money, and they cannot direct how it is spent.
- INDEPENDENCE USA PAC$1.7 million
- WOMEN VOTE!EMILY's List's super PAC, spending independently to support Democratic women who back abortion rights.$223,000
- LCV VICTORY FUND$202,000
- AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NURSE ANESTHETISTS SEPARATE SEGREGATED FUND (CRNA-PAC)$171,000
Show all 7 groupsShow fewer
- CLIMATE POWER ACTION$102,000
- MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION$56,000
- HOUSE MAJORITY PACA super PAC aligned with House Democratic leadership, spending to win or hold Democratic House seats.$53,000
Spent opposing
$912,000Ads urging people to vote against this member. This money was spent to defeat them.
- NRCCThe National Republican Congressional Committee, the House Republicans' official campaign organization.$912,000
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 | $2.4 million | $365,000 15% | $35 | FEC |
| 2024 | $4.2 million | $509,000 12% | $198 | FEC |
| 2022 | $6.9 million | $874,000 13% | $344,000 | FEC |
| 2020 | $7.9 million | $901,000 11% | $217,000 | FEC |
| 2018 | $4.9 million | $460,000 9% | $3.2 million | 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.