Alex Padilla
Senator · D-CA
OverviewMoney & Influence
$2.2M raised.
Here's where it came from and where it went.
$2.2M raised$99 avg donation70% from CA2 former staff → lobbyists
Key Findings
2 former staff now work as lobbyists
Former employees have transitioned to the lobbying industry.
12% of PAC money comes from regulated industries
Some funding comes from industries within this member's committee jurisdiction.
54% of money comes from large donors (>$1,000)
A significant share of funding comes from major individual donors.
70% of donations come from CA
The majority of funding comes from within the member's home state.
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 — Alex Padilla'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
Padilla's leadership PAC raised $2.7M — more than individual donors contributed directly. Healthcare is the largest PAC sector at $168K from 65 PACs.
Industry PACs
$538KWhich sectors fund this member
Leadership PACs
$2.7MHow much power this member brokers
Defend The Dream
Raised: $926KSpent: $953K
Defend The Dream
Raised: $1.5MSpent: $1.3M
Defend The Dream
Raised: $304KSpent: $251K
Top Individual Donors
$515KNamed people writing checks
CA · Not-employed · 2x
CA · Not-employed · 2x
CA · 2x
NV · Andreessen Horowitz · 2x
Chen, Yu↗$7K
FL · Not-employed · 2xZhao, Peng↗$7K
FL · Citadel Securities · 2x
Padilla
Energy and Natural Resources, Environment and Public Works
Votes Cast by Policy Area
Economics and Public Finance
146
International Affairs
41
Armed Forces and National Security
33
Transportation and Public Works
28
Science, Technology, Communications
25
Environmental Protection
20
The Revolving Door
Alyson Sincavage — chief counsel → Cisco Systems, Inc; American Immigration Lawyers Association↗(10 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.