What this is, and isn't

This is the "high points" view: total outside spending, the rise of super PACs, and the growth of undisclosed money, cycle by cycle. Beyond the Senate money-versus-outcome comparison and the 2026 Texas and Musk spotlights, it does not yet break down spending by committee, donor, or party nationally — that detail is coming. What the headline numbers already make clear is that the post-Citizens United era moved an enormous and growing share of federal campaign money outside the candidates' own committees, and a large and growing slice of it into the dark.