Understanding Committee and Candidate Support in the 2024 Campaign Finance Data

[even-wei]

I've conducted an analysis on the 2024 campaign finance data, specifically focusing on two questions:

Which committee supported the greatest number of candidates in 2024?

select
  ccl.CMTE_ID,
  cm.CMTE_NM,
  count(ccl.CAND_ID) as CAND_COUNT
from 's3://datarecce-todofec/candidate_committee_linkage_2024.parquet' ccl
join 's3://datarecce-todofec/committee_master_2024.parquet' cm
on ccl.CMTE_ID = cm.CMTE_ID
group by all
order by CAND_COUNT desc;

/*
┌───────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬────────────┐
│  CMTE_ID  │                            CMTE_NM                            │ CAND_COUNT │
│  varchar  │                            varchar                            │   int64    │
├───────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼────────────┤
│ C00493783 │ FRESHMAN AGRICULTURAL REPUBLICAN MEMBERS TRUST AKA FARM TRUST │         16 │
│ C00776807 │ BERMAN4CONGRESS2MAKE AMERICA GEEKY AGAIN                      │          8 │
│ C00832576 │ GREAT CHAIN PAC                                               │          6 │
│ C00846402 │ PERIDOT OPERATIONS INC- ULOMA EKPETE                          │          5 │
│ C00771287 │ ANGELA MARIE WALLS-WINDHAUSER FOR US PRESIDENT 2024           │          4 │
│ C00882209 │ AIDAN FOR CONGRESS                                            │          4 │
│ C00583781 │ LIZ MATORY FOR CONGRESS                                       │          3 │
│ C00851063 │ MARK ELWORTH JR FOR COLORADO                                  │          3 │
│ C00853317 │ RON HARRIS FOR CONGRESS                                       │          3 │
│ C00853325 │ DAVID RUDNICK FOR PRESIDENT                                   │          3 │
│ C00884072 │ PERIDOT OPERATIONS INC-ULOMA EKPETE                           │          3 │
│ C00884569 │ R. DEANN FOR PRESIDENT 2024                                   │          3 │
│ C00572032 │ WILLITA D BUSH FOR PRESIDENT EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE            │          3 │
│ C00715896 │ MCQUEEN FOR CONGRESS                                          │          3 │
│ C00750935 │ UNITED PEOPLE'S PARTY                                         │          3 │
│ C00806026 │ MCBRIDE FOR SENATE                                            │          3 │
│ C00834168 │ WISDOM PEOPLE PARTY                                           │          3 │
│ C00841965 │ DAVID JOSHUA COOK BARNARD                                     │          3 │
│ C00823880 │ ALIX CHRISTOPHER TOULME JR. FOR PRESIDENT 2024                │          3 │
│ C00794362 │ DON HEWETT FOR CONGRESS WA10                                  │          3 │
│     ·     │              ·                                                │          · │
│     ·     │              ·                                                │          · │
│     ·     │              ·                                                │          · │
│ C00883967 │ JUSTICE FOR PALESTINE ELECT AHMAD DARWISH                     │          1 │
│ C00884833 │ SETHATINA NEWMAN FOR PRESIDENT 2024                           │          1 │
│ C00885095 │ KEVIN DURAL FOR CONGRESS                                      │          1 │
│ C00885277 │ DAWSON FOR PRESIDENT 2024                                     │          1 │
│ C00885301 │ SYLVESTER TURNER CAMPAIGN                                     │          1 │
│ C00885392 │ AMERICA PONIES UP FOR VERMIN SUPREME                          │          1 │
│ C00885459 │ ALEX FOR WEST VIRGINIA                                        │          1 │
│ C00885558 │ FREEDOM                                                       │          1 │
│ C00885764 │ HELM FOR CONGRESS                                             │          1 │
│ C00885996 │ ANALISA ROCHE FOR SENATE                                      │          1 │
│ C00886218 │ RIGGINS FOR MISSOURI                                          │          1 │
│ C00886580 │ CAMPAIGN TO ELECT MICHAEL VALLIEN                             │          1 │
│ C00886739 │ COMMITTEE TO ELECT D.ETTA WILCOXON                            │          1 │
│ C00887455 │ JUSTICE WITH DUES                                             │          1 │
│ C00887935 │ ANDREW WOODRUFF MIXON                                         │          1 │
│ C00888230 │ AMERICA FIRST GARY BARVE FOR PRESIDENT                        │          1 │
│ C00888610 │ FRIENDS OF BILLY BRIDGES                                      │          1 │
│ C00888636 │ MAUREEN UCHE 2024                                             │          1 │
│ C00889063 │ LEEDS FOR LEADERSHIP                                          │          1 │
│ C00891713 │ DAMMS FOR POTUS VICTORY COMMITTEE                             │          1 │
├───────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┴────────────┤
│ 8100 rows (40 shown)                                                         3 columns │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
*/

Which candidate was supported by the greatest number of committees in 2024?

select
  ccl.CAND_ID,
  ac.CAND_NAME,
  count(ccl.CMTE_ID) as CMTE_COUNT
from 's3://datarecce-todofec/candidate_committee_linkage_2024.parquet' ccl
join 's3://datarecce-todofec/all_candidates_2024.parquet' ac
on ccl.CAND_ID = ac.CAND_ID
group by all
order by CMTE_COUNT desc;

/*
┌───────────┬──────────────────────────┬────────────┐
│  CAND_ID  │        CAND_NAME         │ CMTE_COUNT │
│  varchar  │         varchar          │   int64    │
├───────────┼──────────────────────────┼────────────┤
│ H2UT04106 │ WALKER, JANUARY          │          4 │
│ S4IA00129 │ ERNST, JONI K            │          4 │
│ S2NV00415 │ LINDEMANN, BARRY         │          4 │
│ S2MT00096 │ DAINES, STEVE            │          4 │
│ H0NY03083 │ DEVOLDER-SANTOS, GEORGE  │          4 │
│ H2CO08079 │ KIRKMEYER, BARBARA       │          3 │
│ S6OH00163 │ BROWN, SHERROD           │          3 │
│ S2NV00308 │ BROWN, SAM               │          3 │
│ S6OR00110 │ WYDEN, RONALD L.         │          3 │
│ S6MT00162 │ TESTER, R. JON           │          3 │
│ H2CA03157 │ KILEY, KEVIN             │          3 │
│ P80001571 │ TRUMP, DONALD J.         │          3 │
│ S2TX00106 │ CORNYN, JOHN SEN         │          3 │
│ H0GA08099 │ SCOTT, JAMES AUSTIN      │          3 │
│ S4OH00192 │ MORENO, BERNIE           │          3 │
│ H0FL04140 │ AGUILAR, ERICK JAVIER    │          3 │
│ H4CA49149 │ GUNDERSON, MATT          │          3 │
│ H4WV02080 │ MOONEY, ALEXANDER XAVIER │          3 │
│ H8CA20059 │ NUNES, DEVIN G.          │          3 │
│ H8PA15195 │ MACKENZIE, RYAN EDWARD   │          3 │
│     ·     │        ·                 │          · │
│     ·     │        ·                 │          · │
│     ·     │        ·                 │          · │
│ S4PA00287 │ FORKNER, WILLIAM         │          1 │
│ S4TN00542 │ BRADSHAW, MARQUITA       │          1 │
│ S4UT00316 │ WALTON, JASON            │          1 │
│ S4VT00033 │ SANDERS, BERNARD         │          1 │
│ S4WI00231 │ RAVEENDRAN, REJANI       │          1 │
│ S4WY00188 │ MORROW, SCOTT D MR       │          1 │
│ S6NE00095 │ NELSON, E BENJAMIN       │          1 │
│ S6RI00221 │ WHITEHOUSE, SHELDON      │          1 │
│ S6SC04189 │ HOLLIMAN, ETHAN CLAY     │          1 │
│ S6TN00216 │ CORKER, ROBERT P JR      │          1 │
│ S6WY00068 │ BARRASSO, JOHN A         │          1 │
│ S8CT00121 │ COREY, MATTHEW MCKINNON  │          1 │
│ S8IN00049 │ BAYH, EVAN               │          1 │
│ S8OH00102 │ RENACCI, JAMES B.        │          1 │
│ S8OH00144 │ FARIS, STEPHEN I MR      │          1 │
│ S8WV00119 │ SWEARENGIN, PAULA JEAN   │          1 │
│ S4NY00321 │ SCHWEITZER, WILLIAM      │          1 │
│ S6IL00151 │ DURBIN, RICHARD J.       │          1 │
│ S4WI00173 │ ANDERSON, PHILLIP NORMAN │          1 │
│ S8AL00381 │ BROOKS, MO               │          1 │
├───────────┴──────────────────────────┴────────────┤
│ 3725 rows (40 shown)                    3 columns │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
*/

Questions for Discussion:

1. What insights can we draw from these committees supporting multiple candidates? Is there a pattern in their political or issue alignment?
2. Why do some candidates receive support from multiple committees while others only receive support from one?
3. Are there any regulatory or strategic reasons behind the differences in committee support?
   I’d love to hear your thoughts and interpretations of this data.

Feel free to check out the raw query results above and chime in!