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Funding profile

Steve Cohen

Democrat · Representative for Tennessee’s 9th district

Career totals · 12 elections · 19962026

$8.7 million

raised by Cohen’s campaigns, everything from 1996 to 2026 added together.

53%

of it came from organized groups rather than from people giving on their own: at least $4.7 million from PACs, plus donations that organizations collected and directed.

$21,000

was spent about Cohen 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 Cohen on FEC.gov

Where the money came from

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

$8.7 millionraised
  • Individual donorsMoney given by people, in their own name.44%$3.8 million
  • Political action committeesOrganized groups: company-run committees, unions, trade associations.53%$4.7 million
  • Other sourcesParty transfers, the candidate's own money, loans and smaller categories.3%$241,000
Federal Election Commission filings across 12 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 Cohen, and deliver them in a bundle. The law counts that as individual money, but the organization still chose where it went.

$500

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

  • JStreetPAC$500

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.

  • Corporation33%$294,000
  • Trade association10%$87,000
  • Labor union34%$303,000
  • Membership organization9%$83,000
  • Co-operative3%$26,000
  • Corporation without capital stock<1%$2,500
  • Unclassified11%$95,000

Which industries

  • Transport69% · $39,000
  • Defense & aerospace31% · $17,000

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. 1Allied Pilots Association Political Action CommitteeOther · Labor union$20,000
  2. 2International Association of Machinists and Aerospace WorkersOther · Labor union$20,000
  3. 3Fedex CorporationTransport · Corporation$20,000
  4. 4American Crystal Sugar CompayAgriculture & food · Co-operative$20,000
  5. 5Enterprise Holdings, Inc.Transport · Corporation$19,000
Show all 10 giversShow fewer
  1. 6Southwest Airlines Pilots Association Political Action Committee (Swapa PAC)Transport · Labor union$18,000
  2. 7American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Afl-CioLabor · Labor union$18,000
  3. 8Honeywell International Inc.Defense & aerospace · Corporation$17,000
  4. 9National Air Traffic Controllers AssociationOther · Labor union$16,000
  5. 10American Association for Justice (Aaj)Legal & lobbying · Membership organization$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 Cohen: 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 Cohen voted; the judgment is yours.

Transport$39,000 given

Cohen voted on 8 bills in this area. The 3 most substantive are listed first.

  • H R 192On Motion to Suspend the Rules and PassAmtrak Executive Bonus Disclosure Act This bill requires Amtrak to publicly disclose the annual base pay and bonus compensation paid to an Amtrak executive in a required annual report to Congress.Yes
  • S 2503On Motion to Suspend the Rules and PassRotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform Act or the ROTOR Act This bill addresses aviation safety by increasing requirements for aircraft tracking and communication using Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology and expanding oversight.Yes
  • H R 7084On PassageThis bill authorizes the President to prohibit the entry of a vessel into the United States if the vessel has transited any U.S.No
Show 5 more bills with full summariesShow fewer
  • H R 7613On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as AmendedAirspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency Act of 2026 or the ALERT Act This bill addresses aviation safety by increasing requirements for aircraft tracking and communication using Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology and expanding oversight.Yes
  • H R 2035On Motion to Suspend the Rules and PassAmerican Cargo for American Ships Act This bill requires 100% of equipment, materials, and commodities procured, furnished, or financed by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and transported on ocean vessels to be transported on U.S.-flagged commercial vessels. (Current cargo preference laws require that a minimum percentage of federally financed ocean cargo be transported on U.S.-flagged commercial vessels.No vote
  • H R 4275On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as AmendedCoast Guard Authorization Act of 2025No vote
  • H R 8897On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as AmendedImproving Travel for American Families Act This bill directs the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to establish a pilot program to implement alternative security screenings for passengers traveling with children who are 12 years old and younger.Yes
  • H R 1608On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as AmendedThis bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to submit a report to Congress on the department's efforts to prevent, deter, and respond to vehicular terrorism (i.e., an action that utilizes automotive transportation to commit terrorism).Yes

Defense & aerospace$17,000 given

Cohen 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.No vote
  • 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.No vote
  • 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.Yes
  • 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. Cohen has no legal control over any of it.

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

$21,000

has been spent for or against Cohen by outside groups. $5,337 supported Cohen; $16,000 opposed Cohen.

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

$5,337

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

  • STAND FOR CHILDREN INC.$3,831
  • TOGETHER WE THRIVE$750
  • SIERRA CLUB POLITICAL COMMITTEE$360
  • HUMANE SOCIETY LEGISLATIVE FUND$297
Show all 6 groupsShow fewer
  • PLANNED PARENTHOOD VOTES$69
  • SIERRA CLUB INDEPENDENT ACTION$30

Spent opposing

$16,000

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

  • BATTLE FOR AMERICA PACA super PAC founded and largely funded by Elon Musk that supported Donald Trump in 2024.$16,000

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$776,000$320,000 41%none
2024$703,000$510,000 72%$10
2022$546,000$424,000 78%$19
2020$609,000$409,000 67%$17,000
2018$532,000$370,000 70%$10
2016$616,000$443,000 72%$20
2014$733,000$469,000 64%$274
2012$832,000$483,000 58%$4,174
2010$1.2 million$512,000 44%$10
2008$1.2 million$492,000 40%none
2006$749,000$217,000 29%none
1996$230,000$12,000 5%none

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.