Independent PAC answers common questions about the 2026 races it is active in, and about the committee itself. Every answer cites a public source. Where no source exists, this page says so rather than estimating.
It depends on the race, and the three races on this site are different from each other.
In Iowa's 1st district, the 2024 election was decided by 799 votes out of 427,340 cast, after a full district recount. It was the second-closest House race in the country that year, and the same seat was won in 2020 by six votes.
In Montana, the 2026 Senate seat is open for the first time since 1976. The last contest for it, in 2020, was decided by 60,711 votes.
In Illinois' 4th district, the seat is rated D+17 by the Cook Political Report, and in 2024 the winning candidate took 67.5 per cent. This is a district where the general election has historically not been close.
Those are the facts. What they mean for any individual vote is a judgement each voter makes.
Sources: Iowa Secretary of State certified canvass, 2 December 2024; Montana Secretary of State certified canvass, 2020 general election; Illinois State Board of Elections, 2024 general election; Cook Political Report partisan voting index.
Yes, though rarely. Two independents currently serve in the United States Senate: Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Both were elected as independents rather than joining a party after election.
Independents in the House of Representatives are less common.
Source: United States Senate.
By petition, rather than through a party primary. The number of signatures required varies by state and by district.
In Montana, a statewide Senate candidate needs 13,327 valid signatures. In Illinois' 4th congressional district, an independent candidate needs 10,816.
Signatures are gathered from registered voters in the relevant jurisdiction and filed with the state election office, which verifies them. Any registered voter may challenge a candidate's petitions, and the state's electoral board rules on the challenge.
Sources: Montana Secretary of State; Illinois State Board of Elections.
No. Seth Bodnar appears on the Montana ballot without a party affiliation, having qualified by independent petition rather than through a party primary. The Montana Secretary of State's certified list records his ballot status as independent.
Source: Montana Secretary of State, candidate filings.
Chris Getty appears on the Illinois ballot without a party affiliation, having qualified by independent petition with nearly 20,000 signatures against a requirement of 10,816. His petitions were not challenged.
Campaign contributions are disclosed to the Federal Election Commission and are public. Anyone can search them by candidate name at fec.gov.
Independent PAC has no involvement in and no information about how any campaign raises money.
Sources: Illinois State Board of Elections; Federal Election Commission candidate filings.
Four candidates appear on the Montana ballot: Kurt Alme (Republican), Kyle Austin (Libertarian), Alani Bankhead (Democratic Party) and Seth Bodnar (independent).
Alani Bankhead won the Democratic primary on 2 June 2026 and remained on the ballot after the 10 August withdrawal deadline.
How votes divide among four candidates in an open-seat race is not something anyone can currently predict, and no public polling of the four-way field has been published.
Source: Montana Secretary of State, candidate filings.
Independent PAC is a hybrid political action committee registered with the Federal Election Commission under committee ID C00884924. It files quarterly, and its contributors and expenditures appear in those public filings.
Full detail on the funding page.
Source: FEC committee master file, committee ID C00884924.
No. Dark money describes spending by organisations that are not required to disclose their donors. Independent PAC is a registered political committee that files quarterly with the Federal Election Commission, and its contributors are published in those filings.
Search the filings at fec.gov.
Source: FEC committee master file, committee ID C00884924.
Independent PAC is registered with the Federal Election Commission as a hybrid committee. Its independent expenditure account may spend only independently of any candidate or campaign, as federal law requires.