Washington State · 2026 election cycle, as filed
$42.9 million
has been spent on Washington campaigns this cycle so far — the cycle is not over, so this is a floor. Last year, seven in ten races on the ballot had a single candidate on them.
$63.7M
contributed to campaigns
Money given to a candidate or measure committee, which has to report every dollar of it.
$4.3M
spent independently
Spent about candidates by committees that answer to none of them.
2.2×
against 2014
2014 to 2024, contributions only. Independent expenditure filings are not in the record before 2015, so a total-spending comparison against 2014 would measure our coverage rather than the money.
Contributions reported, by cycle
| Cycle | Contributed | Share of the largest cycle | Outside spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $106M | not in the record | |
| 2016 | $165.2M | not in the record | |
| 2018 | $180.6M | not in the record | |
| 2020 | $147.4M | $33.3M | |
| 2022 | $138.7M | $32.4M | |
| 2024 | $232.8M | $52M | |
| 2026 (in progress) | $63.7M | $4.3M |
Even cycles only, and the current one is unfinished. Washington votes on state and federal offices in even years and local ones in odd, and the two are not the same quantity — putting them on one axis would show a rise and fall that is only which offices were on the ballot. Where a cycle says outside spending is not in the record, that is our coverage and not a cycle in which nobody spent independently.
Last checked 2026-07-31
Source Public Disclosure Commission C-3 contribution and C-4 expenditure reports; C-6 independent expenditure filings · as of 2026-07-31 · newest filing 2026-07-27
01 · who gave the most
Five organisations account for $9.1 million of it, and two have already given more than they gave in the whole of 2024.
Ranked by total given to Washington committees this cycle. Each row sums that giver’s filed contributions. We publish no total for “each side” — sorting these organisations into sides would be our opinion rather than their filing.
| Contributor | Type | This cycle | 2024 total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rivian Automotive, LLC | Business | $4.7M | no filing |
| Airbnb, Inc | Political Action Committee | $2.1M | $27,900 |
| Washington Federation of State Employees | Union | $1.1M | $991K |
| HEYWOOD BRIAN | Individual | $609K | $849K |
| SEIU 775 Ballot Fund | Business | $603K | $9.4M |
| SEIU Initiative Fund | Political Action Committee | $550K | $934K |
| GOPAC Election Fund | Business | $538K | $140K |
| Jobs PAC | Political Action Committee | $516K | $1.6M |
Aggregate rows are money, not organisations. The PDC reports sub-threshold giving as a lump labelled “small contributions” or “miscellaneous receipts”. Two of those rank inside the top five this cycle by amount. They are in the totals above and are excluded from this list, because a table of who gave should not contain a bookkeeping category.
Last checked 2026-07-31
Source Public Disclosure Commission C-3 contribution and C-4 expenditure reports; C-6 independent expenditure filings · as of 2026-07-31 · top 8 shown
02 · where it went
One ballot measure cost 17.2 times the most expensive legislative race.
The largest spenders of the 2024 cycle, from their own expenditure filings. Ballot measures dominate the top of the table — and the scale against an ordinary campaign is the finding.
218×
what the median state legislative campaign spent ($76,841) — the single committee No on 2117 spent that many times over in 2024
Median over every state legislative candidacy that cycle reporting more than $1,000 spent.
| Committee | Kind, as registered | Spent |
|---|---|---|
| No on 2117 · 2117 | ballot measure committee | $16.7M |
| No On 2124 · 2124 | ballot measure committee | $13.4M |
| Let's Go Washington (Sponsored by Brian Heywood) · I-2066 | ballot measure committee | $10.3M |
| SEIU 775 BALLOT FUND · I-2109, I-2117, and I-2124 | ballot measure committee | $9.6M |
| Evergreen Values – Democratic Governors Association | political committee | $8.5M |
Source WA PDC expenditure filings, C-1 registrations · as of 2026-07-31
03 · the money nobody can refuse
$52 million was spent on candidates who had no say in it.
A campaign can turn a contribution away. Independent expenditures — money spent for or against a candidate without coordinating with anyone — cannot be declined, and answer to nobody on a ballot.
| Committee | Filings | Outside spending |
|---|---|---|
| Evergreen Values – Democratic Governors Association | 26 | $16.3M |
| NEW DIRECTION PAC | 290 | $7.7M |
| WA Wins Sponsored by The Leadership Council | 69 | $3.9M |
| FIX WASHINGTON SPONSORED BY REAGAN FUND | 484 | $3.0M |
| SOUTHWEST WA PRIORITIES Sponsored by Kennedy Fund | 39 | $2.6M |
Source WA PDC independent expenditure and electioneering filings · as of 2026-07-31 · 2024 cycle · filings before 2015 are not in the record
04 · what all of it bought you
Then the ballot arrives, and there is nothing to decide.
After every dollar in the tables above, most of the offices on a Washington ballot are settled before a single vote is cast. In the most recent off-year election, 69.8% of races were uncontested — one candidate on the line, or none at all.
Source WA Secretary of State certified canvass; uncontested share for the 2025 cycle
05 · what it took to be on that ballot
Here is everything it took to be on that ballot.
Everything the money above was spent to win a place on. For most of the offices on it, nobody had to spend anything at all.
69.8%
of the races on Washington’s 2025 general election ballot had exactly one candidate
A race counts as uncontested when exactly one candidate appeared on the ballot. Write-in lines and ballot measures are excluded.
The full report names every seat, county by county — and what filing for one takes.
Source WA Secretary of State certified general election results
From Washington Independents
This site exists so that one question — who gave, who spent, who ran unopposed — has a single place to be answered from the public record, with no login and no subscription.
Every figure here is rebuilt from primary filings on a schedule, and every section names the document it came from. Use it, cite it, and tell us where it is wrong.
06 · how this was built
None of these figures existed in one place until we assembled them.
6,323,736
contribution records
PDC C-3/C-4 filings
1,413,820
distinct donor names
never joined on name alone
3,906,975
recorded floor votes
from 1991 on
3,341
committees on file
across ten cycles
Each of these lived in a separate state system — the Public Disclosure Commission for money, the Legislature for votes and hearings, the Secretary of State for elections. This site reads them from their own filings, keys records together only where a shared identifier lets it, and refuses the joins that would need a guess. Where a source is silent, the page says so instead of filling the gap.
Source Public Disclosure Commission; Washington State Legislature; Secretary of State — each named on the page that uses it
Who publishes this
Washington Independents is a public-records project. It takes no position on any candidate, party or ballot measure; it publishes the filings and the arithmetic, and names its sources on every page.
The publisher of record will be listed here when the project’s political committee is registered with the Public Disclosure Commission.