
Funding profile
Scott DesJarlais
Republican · Representative for Tennessee’s 4th district
Career totals · 9 elections · 2010–2026
$5.4 million
raised by DesJarlais’s campaigns, everything from 2010 to 2026 added together.
36%
of it came from organized groups rather than from people giving on their own: at least $1.9 million from PACs, plus donations that organizations collected and directed.
$1.2 million
was spent about DesJarlais 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 DesJarlais on FEC.gov
Where the money came from
Everything DesJarlais’s campaigns have reported raising, split by who gave it.
- Individual donorsMoney given by people, in their own name.63%$3.4 million
- Political action committeesOrganized groups: company-run committees, unions, trade associations.36%$1.9 million
- Other sourcesParty transfers, the candidate's own money, loans and smaller categories.2%$86,000
Money bundled through organizations
Not every “individual” donation arrives on its own. An organization can collect checks from its members, already earmarked for DesJarlais, and deliver them in a bundle. The law counts that as individual money, but the organization still chose where it went.
$13,000
reached DesJarlais this way, <1% of everything they raised from individuals. Each donation came from a real person. The organization picked who got it.
- 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.$13,000
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.
- Corporation42%$196,000
- Trade association9%$41,000
- Labor union1%$6,000
- Membership organization14%$65,000
- Co-operative<1%$1,000
- Corporation without capital stock2%$10,000
- Unclassified32%$149,000
Which industries
- Defense & aerospace81% · $63,000
- Other19% · $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
- 1Scalise Leadership Fund$21,000
- 2Buckeye Victory Fund$19,000
- 3Safari Club International$18,000
- 4American Revival PAC$15,000
- 5National Association of Realtors$15,000
Show all 10 giversShow fewer
- 6Maynard Nexsen PAC$15,000
- 7RTX Corporation$13,000
- 8Freedom Caucus Fund$10,000
- 9Smith Victory$10,000
- 10Leidos, Inc.$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.
Their money and their votes, side by side
For each industry that gave to DesJarlais: 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 DesJarlais voted; the judgment is yours.
Defense & aerospace—$63,000 given
DesJarlais voted on 21 bills in this area. The 3 most substantive are listed first.
- H R 980On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as AmendedModernizing the Veterans On-Campus Experience Act of 2025 This bill removes the requirement that educational and vocational counseling services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on campus at institutions of higher learning must be provided by VA counselors.Yes
- H R 3123On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as AmendedThis bill establishes procedures for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to issue a pension that was due but unpaid at the time of a veteran’s death.Yes
- H R 695On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as AmendedMedal of Honor Act This act increases the monthly special pension for living Medal of Honor recipients.Yes
Show 5 more bills with full summariesShow fewer
- H R 586On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as AmendedVietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to conduct an epidemiological study and report on the prevalence of cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) in veterans who served in the Vietnam theater of operations during the Vietnam era.Yes
- H R 1039On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as AmendedClear Communication for Veterans Claims Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to seek to enter into an agreement with a federally funded research and development center to assess notices that the VA sends to claimants applying for or submitting claims for VA benefits.Yes
- H R 1228On Motion to Suspend the Rules and PassPrioritizing Veterans' Survivors Act This bill provides that the Office of Survivors Assistance (OSA) must operate within the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Currently, OSA operates within the Pension and Fiduciary Service of the Veterans Benefits Administration.)Yes
- H R 530On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as AmendedACES Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study and report on the prevalence and mortality of cancers among veterans who served on active duty as aircrew members and regularly flew in fixed-wing aircraft.No vote
- H R 1286On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as AmendedSimplifying Forms for Veterans Claims Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to seek to enter an agreement with a federally funded research and development center to assess the forms that the VA sends to claimants.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. DesJarlais has no legal control over any of it.
This is not a donation. Nobody gave this money to DesJarlais. It was spent on advertising about DesJarlais, and money spent against a candidate is plainly not funding them. So it never gets added to the figures above.
$1.2 million
has been spent for or against DesJarlais by outside groups. $240,000 supported DesJarlais; $962,000 opposed DesJarlais.
Largest outside spenders
Summed across 8 elections, using the Commission's aggregated totals so amended filings and 24-hour notices are not double-counted.
Spent supporting
$235,000Ads urging people to vote for this member. Still not their money, and they cannot direct how it is spent.
- SUPER PAC FOR AMERICA$173,000
- CITIZENS 4 ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT$41,000
- COMMUNITY HEALTH COUNCIL PAC DBA BREAST CANCER HEALTH COUNCIL PAC$8,000
- HOUSE FREEDOM FUND$7,015
Show all 5 groupsShow fewer
- AMERICANS FOR JOB SECURITY$4,605
Spent opposing
$960,000Ads urging people to vote against this member. This money was spent to defeat them.
- DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE$656,000
- HOUSE MAJORITY PACA super PAC aligned with House Democratic leadership, spending to win or hold Democratic House seats.$298,000
- 2010 LEADERSHIP COUNCIL$6,000
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 | $537,000 | $307,000 57% | $406 | FEC |
| 2024 | $306,000 | $154,000 50% | $578 | FEC |
| 2022 | $175,000 | $105,000 60% | $786 | FEC |
| 2020 | $332,000 | $124,000 37% | $10,000 | FEC |
| 2018 | $545,000 | $217,000 40% | $6,454 | FEC |
| 2016 | $608,000 | $200,000 33% | none | FEC |
| 2014 | $659,000 | $147,000 22% | $41,000 | FEC |
| 2012 | $1.3 million | $476,000 38% | $303,000 | FEC |
| 2010 | $973,000 | $192,000 20% | $838,000 | 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.