[1][2] The legal term PAC was created in pursuit of campaign finance reform in the United States.
[4] Federal multi-candidate PACs may contribute to candidates as follows: In its 2010 case Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned sections of the Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (also known as the McCain–Feingold Act) that had prohibited corporate and union political independent expenditures in political campaigns.
[5] Citizens United declared it was unconstitutional to prohibit corporations and unions from spending from their general treasuries to promote candidates or from contributing to PACs.
[10] The first PAC was the CIO-PAC, formed in July 1943 under CIO president Philip Murray and headed by Sidney Hillman.
Furthermore, it required PACs to file regular reports with the Federal Election Commission(FEC) disclosing anyone who has donated at least $200.
[13] The Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional limits imposed on PACs by the legislature under First Amendment grounds in many cases, starting with Buckley v.
Judicial decisions added a third classification, independent expenditure-only committees, which are colloquially known as "super PACs".
[22] The number remained steady during the 2024 election cycle, with leadership PACs donating nearly $69 million to federal candidates.
In the 2018 election, the top ten PACs donated a total of $29,349,895 (directly, and via their affiliates and subsidiaries) to federal candidates:[39] In the 2020 election, the top ten PACs donated a total of $28,276,448 (directly, and via their affiliates and subsidiaries) to federal candidates:[40] In the 2022 election, the top ten PACs donated a total of $28,051,395 (directly, and via their affiliates and subsidiaries) to federal candidates:[41] In the 2024 election, the top 10 PACs donated a total of $25,995,526 (directly, and via their affiliates and subsidiaries) to federal candidates:[42]