Which group accounts for the largest share of contributions to congressional candidates?

• A. PACs
• B. Major corporations
• C. Small businesses
• D. Individuals

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is that individual donors provide the largest share of money to congressional candidates. There are far more individual contributors than any other single group, and even though individuals are subject to per-candidate limits, the sheer number of people giving money adds up to dominate total contributions. In contrast, corporations are not allowed to donate directly to candidates, so their influence shows up only through PACs or other channels—those sources are limited or rely on money from many donors anyway. PACs do contribute, but their totals come from multiple donors and still don’t reach the scale of individual giving. Small businesses are typically counted as individuals in practice when their contributions are aggregated, and overall, the vast volume of individual donations outpaces other groups, making individuals the largest source of campaign funds.