State Limits on Individual Contributions to Candidates, per Election Cycle
(Ranked by Limit S ize)
Governor
Ranking
State
1
Alabama
Indiana
Iowa
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
North Dakota
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Texas
Utah
Virginia
13
California
14
New York
15
Ohio
16
Georgia
17
New Mexico
18
North Carolina
19
Idaho
Louisiana
Nevada
Wisconsin
23
Tennessee
24
New Jersey
25
Connecticut
South Carolina
27
Michigan
28
Florida
Hawaii
Maryland
31
Illinois *
Oklahoma
33
Arizona
Wyoming
35
Arkansas
Kansas
South Dakota
Vermont
39
Washington
40
Maine
41
Kentucky
Minnesota
New Hampshire
West Virginia
45
Montana
46
Delaware
47
Colorado
48
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
50
Alaska
State Senate
Limit
Ranking
Unlimited
1
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
$56,400
13
$50,961.67
14
$25,064.68
15
$12,600
16
$10,400
17
$10,200
18
$10,000
19
$10,000
$10,000
21
$10,000
22
$7,800
$7,600
$7,000
25
$7,000
26
$6,800
$6,000
28
$6,000
$6,000
30
$5,400
$5,400
$5,000
$5,000
$4,000
$4,000
$4,000
$4,000
$3,800
39
$3,150
40
$2,000
41
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$1,300
$1,200
46
$1,100
47
$1,000
48
$1,000
49
$500
50
State
Alabama
Indiana
Iowa
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
North Dakota
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Ohio
New York
North Carolina
Nevada
California
Maryland
Illinois *
Oklahoma
New Jersey
Arizona
Georgia
Louisiana
New Mexico
Arkansas
Hawaii
Tennessee
Wyoming
Connecticut
Florida
Idaho
Kansas
Kentucky
Michigan
New Hampshire
South Carolina
West Virginia
Washington
Vermont
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Wisconsin
Maine
Delaware
Alaska
Colorado
Montana
State House
Ranking
Limit
Unlimited
1
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
$25,064.68
13
$16,800
14
$10,200
15
$10,000
16
$8,400
17
$6,000
18
$5,400
19
$5,400
$5,200
21
$5,000
22
$5,000
$5,000
$4,800
25
$4,000
26
$4,000
27
$3,000
$3,000
29
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
36
$2,000
37
$2,000
$1,900
$1,500
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
44
$1,000
45
$750
46
$600
$500
$400
49
$340
50
State
Alabama
Indiana
Iowa
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
North Dakota
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Ohio
North Carolina
Nevada
California
New York
Maryland
Illinois *
Oklahoma
New Jersey
Arizona
Georgia
Louisiana
New Mexico
Arkansas
Tennessee
Wyoming
Florida
Hawaii
Idaho
Kentucky
New Hampshire
South Carolina
West Virginia
Washington
Kansas
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Vermont
Maine
Delaware
Alaska
Connecticut
Wisconsin
Colorado
Montana
Limit
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
$25,064.68
$10,200
$10,000
$8,400
$8,200
$6,000
$5,400
$5,400
$5,200
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
$4,800
$4,000
$3,000
$3,000
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$1,900
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
$750
$600
$500
$500
$500
$400
$340
Us ing NCS L’s da ta o n c a mpa ign c ontribution limits , we c a lc ula te d e a c h s ta te ’s c ontribution limit o n individua l giving to c a ndida te s for gove rnor, S ta te S e na tor,
a nd S ta te Re pre s e nta tive (or the e quiva le nt) o n a n e le c tion c yc le ba s is . In s ta te s tha t a lloc a te the ir limits o n a n e le c tion ba s is , we double d the limit to a c c ount
for the ma ximum a n individua l c ould give to a c a ndida te in both a prima ry a nd ge ne ra l e le c tion. S ta te s tha t re gula te c ontribution limits o n a ye a rly ba s is we re
c ons ide re d to ha ve limits e quiva le nt to a n e le c tion c yc le for the purpos e s o f this c ha rt. Contribution limit da ta a va ila ble a t: “S ta te Limits o n Contributions to
Ca ndida te s ,”
Na tiona l
Confe re nc e
of
S ta te
Le gis la ture s
(NCS L).
Re trie ve d
on
J uly
15,
2015.
Ava ila ble
a t:
http://www.nc s l.org/P orta ls /1/doc ume nts /le gis mgt/Limits _to_Ca ndida te s _2012- 2014.pdf (Oc tobe r 2013). Adjus tme nts ha ve be e n ma de to the s e va lue s to
re fle c t le gis la tive c ha nge s in Arizona , Ma s s a c hus e tts , Mic higa n, Minne s ota , Okla homa , a nd Ve rmont n o t re fle c te d in NCS L’s da ta , a s we ll a s for thos e s ta te s
tha t ha ve a lre a dy a djus te d the ir c ontribution limits for infla tion for the 2015- 2016 e le c tion c yc le : Ca lifornia , Illinois , Ma ine , North Ca rolina , Ohio, Te nne s s e e , a nd
Wa s hington. All limits lis te d re fle c t thos e a pplic a ble to the 2015- 2016 e le c tion c yc le . P le a s e note : In Ne w York, whe re limits for gube rna toria l prima ry c a mpa igns
diffe r ba s e d o n a c a ndida te ’s politic a l pa rty, we took a n a ve ra ge o f the prima ry limits for a ll pa rtie s lis te d b y the s ta te a nd a dde d the re s ulta nt figure to the
ge ne ra l e le c tion limit.
* In Illinois , if s pe nding by S upe r P ACs hits a de fine d a mount in a give n ra c e , the n e xis ting c a ndida te c ontribution limits no longe r a pply.
State Limits on Individual Contributions to Candidates, 2015-2016 Cycle
Governor
State
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois *
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Limit
Unlimited
$500
$5,000
$2,000
$28,200
$550
$3,500
$1,200
$3,000
$6,300
$6,000
$5,000
$5,400
Unlimited
Unlimited
$2,000
$1,000
$5,000
$1,575
$6,000
$1,000
$6,800
$2,000
Unlimited
Unlimited
$650
Unlimited
$5,000
$1,000
$3,800
$5,200
Per Party
$41,100
$5,100
Unlimited
$12,532.34
$2,700
Unlimited
Unlimited
$1,000
$3,500
$4,000
$3,900
Unlimited
Unlimited
$4,000
Unlimited
$1,900
$1,000
$10,000
$2,500
State Senate
Schedule
per year
per cycle
per election
per election
per election
per election
per cycle
per election
per election
per cycle
per election
per cycle
per election
per election
per election
per election
per cycle
per year
per cycle
two-years
per election
State
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois *
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
per election
per election
per election
per election
per primary
New York
per general
per election North Carolina
North Dakota
per election Ohio
per election Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
per year Rhode Island
per election South Carolina
per year South Dakota
per election Tennessee
Texas
Utah
per cycle Vermont
Virginia
per election Washington
per election West Virginia
per cycle Wisconsin
per election Wyoming
Limit
Unlimited
$500
$5,000
$2,000
$4,200
$200
$1,000
$600
$1,000
$2,500
$4,000
$1,000
$5,400
Unlimited
Unlimited
$1,000
$1,000
$2,500
$375
$6,000
$1,000
$2,000
$1,000
Unlimited
Unlimited
$170
Unlimited
$5,000
$1,000
$2,600
$2,400
$6,500
$10,300
$5,100
Unlimited
$12,532.34
$2,700
Unlimited
Unlimited
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
$1,500
Unlimited
Unlimited
$1,500
Unlimited
$950
$1,000
$1,000
$1,500
State House
Schedule
per year
per cycle
per election
per election
per election
per election
per cycle
per election
per election
per cycle
per election
per cycle
per election
per election
per election
per election
per cycle
per year
per cycle
two-years
per election
State
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois *
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
per election
per election
per election
per election
per primary
New York
per general
per election North Carolina
North Dakota
per election Ohio
per election Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
per year Rhode Island
per election South Carolina
per year South Dakota
per election Tennessee
Texas
Utah
per cycle Vermont
Virginia
per election Washington
per election West Virginia
per cycle Wisconsin
per election Wyoming
Limit
Unlimited
$500
$5,000
$2,000
$4,200
$200
$250
$600
$1,000
$2,500
$2,000
$1,000
$5,400
Unlimited
Unlimited
$500
$1,000
$2,500
$375
$6,000
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
Unlimited
Unlimited
$170
Unlimited
$5,000
$1,000
$2,600
$2,400
Schedule
per year
per cycle
per election
per election
per election
per election
per cycle
per election
per election
per cycle
per election
per cycle
per election
per election
per election
per election
per cycle
per year
per cycle
two-years
per election
per election
per election
per election
per election
$4,100 per election
$5,100
Unlimited
$12,532.34
$2,700
Unlimited
Unlimited
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
$1,500
Unlimited
Unlimited
$1,000
Unlimited
$950
$1,000
$500
$1,500
per election
per election
per election
per year
per election
per year
per election
per cycle
per election
per election
per cycle
per election
Contribution limit data available at: “State Limits on Contributions to Candidates,” National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Retrieved on July 15, 2015.
Available at: http://www.ncsl.org/Portals/1/documents/legismgt/Limits_to_Candidates_2012-2014.pdf (October 2013). Adjustments have been made to these
values to reflect legislative changes in Arizona, M assachusetts, M ichigan, M innesota, Oklahoma, and Vermont not reflected in NCSL’s data, as well as for those
states that have already adjusted their contribution limits for inflation for the 2015-2016 election cycle: California, Illinois, M aine, North Carolina, Ohio,
Tennessee, and Washington. Alll limits listed reflect those applicable to the 2015-2016 election cycle.
* In Illinois, if spending by Super PACs hits a defined amount in a given race, then existing candidate contribution limits no longer apply.