PAC vs. Super PAC: Key Differences for 2026

What is a Super PAC?

Super PACs differ significantly from traditional PACs because they can receive unlimited donations from corporations, individuals, and unions. Super PACs cannot make direct contributions to campaigns or political parties.

The ability to raise and spend large sums of money has given Super PACs an influential role in the political process in recent years. This intense focus on fundraising has altered the landscape of elections by making them costlier and allowing certain well-funded groups the power to shape political outcomes.

The History of Super PACs

Super PACs emerged after the landmark Citizens United v FEC Supreme Court decision of 2010, which removed restrictions on independent political spending. This opened the door for corporations and wealthy individuals to pour unlimited funding into campaigns without any disclosure requirements or legal limits.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission arose when the conservative non-profit organization “Citizens United” sought to air a movie critical of then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, which was prohibited by existing campaign finance laws. Citizens United sued the FEC on grounds of freedom of speech, arguing that these restrictions violated their First Amendment rights.

In a 5–4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Citizens United and held that restrictions on independent political spending led to an unconstitutional infringement of free speech. This ruling meant that corporate money could be funneled into elections through super PACs and other organizations with no legal limits or disclosure requirements. As a result, this decision unleashed unprecedented amounts of money into politics from outside sources, leading to increased influence from corporations and wealthy individuals over popular opinion and legislation.

Super PAC Example

The largest Super PAC in the 2022 election cycle was the Senate Leadership Fund, which spent $246,008,258 in general elections, with the vast majority of that money going against Democrats. The Blackstone Group and Citadel donated $22,000,000 each to the fund.

Compare those numbers to our PAC example, which contributed $3,986,000 in total to general elections, and you can see the difference in scale between PACs and Super PACs is stark.

The Difference Between PACs and Super PACs

The main difference between PACs and Super PACs is that PACs are more regulated. Traditional PAC regulations include donation limits to an individual candidate and a ceiling on the overall sum of donations from any given source.

Super PACs, on the other hand, are not required to abridge their political spending on individual candidates or causes due to their status as non-profit organizations. However, they must disclose all financing information in order to be held accountable for the money spent during a campaign season.

How are PACs and Super PACs the Same?

Political Action Committees (PACs) and Super PACs are both pressure groups that work to influence the political landscape.

PACs are primarily focused on fundraising for federal election endeavors, while Super PACs, or independent expenditure-only committees, raise funds for outside spending, such as television ad campaigns and other promotional material.

Both PACs and Super PACs must report their donors to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and abide by federal campaign finance laws. Despite the fact that these two entities have different roles in the political sphere, the major similarity between them is clear: They both accept unrestricted donations when it comes to election participation.

Why do PACs Exist?

PACs and Super PACs exist so groups can pool resources to make their political contribution more effective.

The Federal Election Campaign Act generally prohibits corporations, trade associations and labor organizations from using their general treasury funds to make contributions to federal candidates, federal accounts of political party committees, and other political committees (PACs). They may, however, fund independent expenditures, contribute to political committees established solely to finance independent expenditures (Super PACs), contribute to the non-contribution accounts of Hybrid PACs, and establish separate segregated funds (SSFs).

An independent expenditure is an expenditure for a communication that expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate and which is not made in coordination with any candidate or their campaign or political party.

PACs vs Super PACs Summary

PACs are formed by individuals or organizations to support a particular political candidate or party and have strict fundraising and donation limits.

Super PACs may raise unlimited funds from individuals, corporations, labor unions, and other groups to support groups of candidates. They can use those funds for “independent expenditures” like ad campaigns but cannot donate directly to candidates or parties.

They both serve the same purpose – to provide financial support for political candidates – but they operate in vastly different ways due to differences between federal law requirements and internal governing structures.