Press Release: New Report from PSA Finds Unsustainable Over 5x Increase in Federal Campaign and Committee Spending on Security in Last Decade

April 9, 2026

More Than $100 Million Spent on Physical and Digital Security for Federal Candidates Since 2015 Amid Rising Violent Threats

 

Washington, D.C. — As America gears up for the 2026 midterms, a new report from the Public Service Alliance (PSA) finds that federal campaigns and committees have spent more than $100 million on security in the last decade, with security spending in the 2023-24 cycle at over five times what it was in the 2015-16 cycle. Dollars that could otherwise be invested in get-out-the-vote efforts or bipartisan convenings with potential constituents are instead going to pay for bodyguards, bulletproof vests, event security details, CCTV cameras, window hardening supplies, threat monitoring services, privacy and cybersecurity services, and more.

PSA’s newest report – The Cost to Run for Office – tabulates and analyzes 10 years’ worth of campaign and committee spending data reported to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to understand how Americans running for federal public office are responding, with dollars, to rising violent threats. The report also makes two practical recommendations to make running for office safer. 

“Running for office, like many kinds of public service, increasingly means facing violent threats, and we see this danger reflected in the unsustainable rise in federal campaign and committee spending on security over the last decade,” said Justin Sherman, Interim Vice President of the PSA Security Project and the report’s author. “It’s particularly disturbing to see security spending rising for home-related security upgrades, indicating increased fear around risks to people’s families and personal residences. Ensuring that candidates, of any party and at all levels of government, can access reasonably necessary privacy and security resources is pivotal for empowering Americans to safely serve their communities.”

Key Findings

PSA evaluated 10 years’ worth of FEC federal campaign and committee spending data spanning the last five cycles (2015-16, 2017-18, 2019-20, 2021-22, and 2023-24), revealing several troubling trends that reflect a conservative, minimum estimate of spending:

  • Federal campaigns and committees have spent at least $104 million in the last decade on security, ranging from personal protection to digital monitoring.
  • Spending has rapidly increased: Federal campaign and committee spending on security in the 2023-24 cycle was more than five times what it was in the 2015-16 cycle.
  • Security spending increased the most in absolute terms from the 2017-18 cycle ($5,751,121.60) to the 2019-20 cycle ($29,067,479.13) by more than 400% ($23,316,357.53).
  • Security spending decreased the most in absolute terms from the 2019-20 cycle ($29,067,479.13) to the 2021-22 cycle ($20,154,555.35) by more than 30% ($8,912,923.78).
  • Home-related security spending in the last decade (e.g., home alarms, fencing, and window upgrades) totaled almost $900,000 ($898,129.10), while event-related security spending (e.g., for rallies and get-out-the-vote events) totaled more than $5 million ($5,057,858.65) over the same period.
  • Digital-related security spending in the last decade (e.g., cybersecurity, privacy services, and threat monitoring) totaled almost $1.4 million ($1,399,650.30).
  • In the 2023-24 cycle, the top recipients of security spending in aggregate—such as home alarm companies, surveillance camera companies, or physical security providers—had listed addresses in California ($8,697,854.17), Florida ($6,991,730.95), and Virginia ($4,762,923.39).
  • For federal campaigns’ security spending in particular (within the umbrella of federal political committees): over the last decade, House campaigns spent at least $6.7 million, Senate campaigns spent at least $11.7 million, and presidential campaigns spent at least $23.1 million.

Importantly, these numbers are a conservative, minimum estimate of the total spend on federal campaign and committee security expenses—meaning the actual numbers are likely even higher. They also do not account for all relevant government-incurred costs, such as U.S. Secret Service protection assigned to certain presidential candidates.

Key Recommendations

Given rising federal campaign and committee spending across several security-related categories, PSA’s report makes two primary recommendations:

  1. Future research should (1) include a wider set of search terms; (2) delve deeper into the types of security services procured; (3) analyze disparate spending patterns; (4) include spending from more recent and upcoming campaign cycles; (5) include in-scope, relevant spending at the state, local, tribal, and territorial levels, as well as at the federal level; and (6) evaluate the extent to which this increased spending is helping Americans running for office feel safer themselves and with respect to their families and staff, and whether they would otherwise change their behavior without this spending—such as by running but engaging less with potential voters, running but not fully voicing their policy opinions and perspectives, or not pursuing a run for office at all.
  2. Policymakers should assess how to reform existing or pass new campaign and committee laws—across the federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial levels—to ensure that people seeking elected office can reasonably dedicate resources toward legitimate security services for themselves, their families, and their staff—from candidacy to when they’re serving in elected office—because many cannot at present. Some state legislators are already calling to update campaign spending rules in response, with at least 24 states already having authorized the use of Campaign Funds for Security, according to the Vote Mama Foundation. 

About the Public Service Alliance

The Public Service Alliance (PSA) empowers America’s estimated 40 million current and former public servants, across political lines, to better and more affordably protect themselves and their families. 

Through the PSA Marketplace, current and former government employees nationwide can save time and money on the services they need and deserve, including those to protect their privacy and security, and personal and professional well-being. Through the PSA Security Project, PSA is raising national awareness of the threats facing public servants, while advancing reforms that make public service safer, so no American is forced to choose between serving their community and protecting their family. 

Learn more at PublicServiceAlliance.com.