What it measures
Every two years the whole House, and a third of the Senate, stands for election. $CY is the total receipts of the member’s principal campaign committee for the current FEC cycle, as filed in public reports.
By the numbers
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average spending by House winners, 1986 | $359,577 (nominal) | Brookings Vital Statistics, Table 3-1 |
| Average spending by House winners, 2018 | $2,092,822 (nominal) | Brookings Vital Statistics, Table 3-1 |
| All House candidates’ total receipts, 2017–18 | $1,392.2M | Campaign Finance Institute, Table 2-8 (House receipts by source) |
| 2024 or 2026 cycle averages | data needed | not yet sourced |
Dollars are nominal (not inflation-adjusted). Full formula: Methodology.