Super PAC definition
Created in 2010, super PACs can raise and spend unlimited money on federal elections but cannot fund campaigns directly.
A super PAC is a type of political action committee (PAC) that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to support or oppose federal candidates, but can’t give money directly to their campaigns. The Federal Election Commission (FEC), the agency that enforces federal campaign finance law, calls these groups “independent expenditure-only political committees.”
Super PACs began in 2010. That year, a federal appeals court ruled in SpeechNow.org v. FEC that limits on contributions to groups making only “independent expenditures” were unconstitutional.
How do super PACs work?
A super PAC spends its money on independent expenditures. The FEC defines an independent expenditure as spending on an ad or other message that expressly urges the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate.
The super PAC cannot coordinate that spending with the candidate, the candidate's committee, or a political party committee. Under FEC rules, coordination includes a communication made at a candidate's request or suggestion.
A group must register as a super PAC within 10 days of raising or spending more than $1,000 in a calendar year.
In the 2023–2024 election cycle, 2,526 super PACs reported $5.1 billion in receipts and $2.7 billion in independent expenditures, according to FEC figures released in April 2025.
What is the difference between a PAC and a super PAC?
A traditional PAC can give money straight to a candidate's campaign, but the law caps how much. For the 2025–2026 elections, a multicandidate PAC (one with more than 50 contributors that has given to at least five federal candidates) can give a candidate $5,000 per election, and other PACs can give $3,500.
A super PAC has no cap on what it can raise or spend. Its ban on giving to candidates covers cash, in-kind help, and coordinated ads.
Who can give money to a super PAC?
Individuals, corporations, labor unions, and other PACs can all give to a super PAC, and there’s no limit on how much.
Super PACs file regular reports with the FEC, and the agency posts them in the campaign finance data section of its website.
Keep exploring
- Who’s funding the 2024 election? - Over 75% of the funds raised for the 2024 election have come from political action committees (PACs) and party committees, which then redistribute the funds to different campaigns.
- Tracking 2024 election contributions and spending - A majority of funding for the 2024 election — over 65%, or nearly $5.6 billion — comes from political action committees, also known as PACs.
- How much money are candidates raising for the 2026 midterm?
- What does the Federal Election Commission (FEC) do?
