Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr.
Representative · D-CA-39
OverviewMoney & Influence
$931K raised.
Here's where it came from and where it went.
$931K raised$1518 avg donation81% from CA1 former staff → lobbyists
Key Findings
1 former staff now work as lobbyists
Former employees have transitioned to the lobbying industry.
77% of money comes from large donors (>$1,000)
A significant share of funding comes from major individual donors.
81% of donations come from CA
The majority of funding comes from within the member's home state.
Low committee-donor overlap
PAC funding shows minimal connection to industries regulated by this member's committee.
How Does Money Flow Through Congress?
An interactive guide to the influence pipeline
Show ↓
How Does Money Flow Through Congress?
An interactive guide to the influence pipeline
How It Works
The Influence Pipeline
How money flows to — and through — Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr.'s office.
01
The Company
A corporation wants a law passed or blocked.
02
The PAC
Direct donations are illegal. So employees pool money into a Political Action Committee.
03
The Target
PACs fund members on committees that regulate their industry.
04
⚖️
The Committee
These committees write the laws that affect the donor's business.
07
🗳️
The Vote
Your representative votes — and the pattern is clear.
06
📋
The Lobbying
Those lobbyists push specific bills before their former colleagues.
05
🚪
The Revolving Door
Former staff become lobbyists for the same industries that fund their old boss.
The cycle repeats.
01
The Company
A corporation wants a law passed or blocked.
02
The PAC
Direct donations are illegal. So employees pool money into a Political Action Committee.
03
The Target
PACs fund members on committees that regulate their industry.
04
⚖️
The Committee
These committees write the laws that affect the donor's business.
05
🚪
The Revolving Door
Former staff become lobbyists for the same industries that fund their old boss.
06
📋
The Lobbying
Those lobbyists push specific bills before their former colleagues.
07
🗳️
The Vote
Your representative votes — and the pattern is clear.
The cycle repeats.
Follow the Money
Cisneros's leadership PAC raised $2.1M — more than individual donors contributed directly. Education is the largest PAC sector at $102K from 34 PACs.
Industry PACs
$321KWhich sectors fund this member
Top Individual Donors
$1.1MNamed people writing checks
Cisneros, Gil↗$507K
CA · The Gilbert & Jacki Cisneros Foundatio · 2xActblue↗$55K
MA · Conduit Total Listed In Agg. Field · 54xWells, Lydia↗$10K
CA · Not Employed · 16xPage, Gloria↗$10K
CA · Not Employed · 5xCA · Phillips 66 · 17x
Kwan, Kathy↗$7K
CA · 2x
Cisneros
Armed Services, Small Business
Votes Cast by Policy Area
Congress
288
Economics and Public Finance
254
Armed Forces and National Security
117
International Affairs
74
Public Lands and Natural Resources
64
Finance and Financial Sector
61
The Revolving Door
Sarah I. Marin — staff assistant → Sustainable Strategies Dc; Sustainable Strategies Dc↗(368 filings)
Deep Dive
How we built this & what it doesn't prove
- • Donor data from FEC filings (9.47M individual contributions)
- • Voting records from Congress.gov roll call data
- • Lobbying data from Senate LDA filings
- • Staff employment from House disbursement records
Correlation between donations and votes does not prove causation. Members may vote in alignment with donors because they share genuine policy beliefs, not because of financial influence. We present the connections — you decide what they mean.