WASHINGTON — The political action committees of 12 of the largest U.S. defense contractors gave a net $10.35 million to 431 federal candidates during the 2025-26 election cycle, with about 59% going to Republicans and 41% to Democrats, according to a Washington Inquisitor analysis of Federal Election Commission records.
The contributions covered Jan. 15, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026, the latest period in the FEC’s bulk file of committee-to-candidate contributions, which was updated Oct. 25. The analysis covers PACs sponsored by Lockheed Martin, Boeing, RTX, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Huntington Ingalls Industries, L3Harris, BAE Systems, Leidos, Booz Allen Hamilton, General Atomics and Textron. Refunds are subtracted.
Corporate PACs are funded by voluntary contributions from employees, not from company treasuries, and federal law caps each PAC’s gift at $5,000 per candidate per election. Industry PACs have generally said they support lawmakers who work on defense, national security and issues affecting their workforce in both parties. Republicans hold majorities in both the House and the Senate, and committee and party leaders, who are now mostly Republicans, typically draw more PAC money.
Where the money went
House candidates received the bulk of the money. House Republicans got about $4.92 million and House Democrats about $3.95 million. Senate Republicans got about $1.16 million and Senate Democrats about $318,000. A further $1,500 went to Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, whom the FEC file lists under a party other than Democrat or Republican.
Every one of the 12 PACs gave more to Republicans than to Democrats, though some split their money nearly evenly.
| PAC sponsor | Net to candidates | To Republicans | To Democrats | Republican share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing | $1,367,000 | $846,500 | $519,000 | 61.9% |
| Northrop Grumman | $1,303,500 | $723,000 | $580,500 | 55.5% |
| General Dynamics | $1,290,700 | $761,500 | $529,200 | 59.0% |
| Lockheed Martin | $1,263,500 | $755,000 | $508,500 | 59.8% |
| RTX | $1,161,000 | $600,000 | $561,000 | 51.7% |
| L3Harris | $879,500 | $466,000 | $413,500 | 53.0% |
| Leidos | $860,500 | $470,500 | $390,000 | 54.7% |
| BAE Systems | $589,000 | $405,000 | $184,000 | 68.8% |
| General Atomics | $557,500 | $374,500 | $183,000 | 67.2% |
| Textron | $521,750 | $363,250 | $158,500 | 69.6% |
| Huntington Ingalls | $355,500 | $204,500 | $151,000 | 57.5% |
| Booz Allen Hamilton | $198,500 | $106,500 | $92,000 | 53.7% |
RTX’s PAC was the most evenly split, and Textron’s was the most Republican-leaning. Boeing’s PAC gave the most to candidates overall.
Top recipients
The money was spread widely: the 25 largest recipients together took about 22% of the total. The biggest recipients were members of the Armed Services and Appropriations committees from both parties.
| Recipient | Amount | PACs giving |
|---|---|---|
| Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) | $120,000 | 12 |
| Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) | $114,000 | 12 |
| Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Fla.) | $108,500 | 12 |
| Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) | $106,000 | 11 |
| Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) | $105,750 | 12 |
| Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) | $104,000 | 12 |
| Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) | $97,500 | 12 |
| Rep. Dale Strong (R-Ala.) | $94,500 | 12 |
| Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) | $90,000 | 11 |
| Rep. Trent Kelly (R-Miss.) | $90,000 | 11 |
Seven of the top 10, including Wittman, Calvert and Aguilar, received money from all 12 PACs. Rogers chairs the House Armed Services Committee and Smith is its top Democrat. Cole chairs the House Appropriations Committee, and Calvert chairs its defense subcommittee. McCollum is the top Democrat on that subcommittee.
Party leaders in both chambers also received money. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) received $87,500, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) $83,500 and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) $80,000. In the Senate, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) received $82,500, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) $77,000 and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) $64,000. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) received $6,000 and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) $5,500. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) received $11,000.
The PACs’ fundraising
The PACs also raised substantial sums from employees. Through Oct. 14, Boeing’s PAC reported receipts of about $4.17 million this cycle, Lockheed Martin’s $3.79 million, Northrop Grumman’s $3.53 million, RTX’s $2.57 million and General Dynamics’ $2.32 million, according to FEC summaries. Much of a PAC’s spending goes to party committees, leadership PACs and other political committees, which are not counted in the candidate totals above.
About the data
The figures come from the FEC’s file of contributions from committees to candidates (form type 24K), net of refunds, for the 2026 cycle. They include contributions to candidates for the House, the Senate and president. They do not include company lobbying, contributions by individual executives, or gifts to party committees, leadership PACs or super PACs. FEC records are filed by the committees themselves, and late filings or amendments may change the totals.
Request for comment
The Washington Inquisitor sought comment from all 12 companies and from the offices of Reps. Wittman, Calvert, Díaz-Balart and Smith. This story will be updated with any responses.
Featured image: The U.S. Capitol dome during spring 2023. U.S. Capitol photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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