SpeechNow.org v. FEC
2010 D.C. Circuit ruling that let groups raise unlimited sums for independent spending.
Every Super PAC in the 2026 midterms traces to SpeechNow.org v. FEC, decided on 26 March 2010. Between 24 and 30 September 2026 outside groups reported at least $259.2m of spending to the FEC, by Lowdown's count of the 300 largest filings.
Last refreshed: 1 October 2026
Timeline for SpeechNow.org v. FEC
Mentioned in: Nine Republican PACs file $164m of $259m
US Midterms 2026Mentioned in: Texas PAC hits $69.3m in Paxton race
US Midterms 2026Mentioned in: No Going Back PAC spends $29.2m in week
US Midterms 2026Background
The scale of 2026 outside spending is the ruling's legacy in numbers. In The Week to 30 September 2026 the 300 largest independent-expenditure filings came to at least $259.2m, of which Republican-side committees filed $164m and Texas races took 31%. Committees able to spend at that pace exist because SpeechNow lifted contribution limits for groups that only spend independently.
The D.C. Circuit heard the case with nine judges, and Chief Judge David Sentelle wrote the opinion. Building on Citizens United v. FEC, decided two months earlier, it held that contributions to groups making only independent expenditures cannot corrupt or create the appearance of corruption, so federal limits on them were unconstitutional as applied to SpeechNow.ORG. the Court upheld the reporting and organisational requirements. The FEC set out how such committees operate in advisory opinions 2010-09 and 2010-11, both issued on 22 July 2010, and the Supreme Court declined to hear the government's appeal.
The decision created the independent expenditure-only committee, known as the Super PAC. The FEC counted 2,526 of them in the 2023-24 cycle, receiving $5.1bn between them.