(The Center Square)—Progressives often say their movement is funded by the grassroots and small-dollar donors, but many Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed candidates receive nearly as much money -- and some more -- from large contributions as small ones.
And a political action committee partly funded by financier and philanthropist George Soros, who has a net worth of nearly $9 billion, is spending heavily to support DSA-endorsed candidates despite DSA attacks on billionaires and the wealthy.
The Center Square examined congressional candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, or prominent progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, who is endorsed by the DSA's New York City chapter for the Nov. 3 election. Many received nearly as much in contributions of $2,000 or more as from those of $200 or less.
Vincent Pons, a professor at Harvard Business School, studied small-donor behavior from 2005 through 2020. In a paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research revised this June, he and his co-authors found more similarities than differences between small and large donors.
“Our research ... shows that donation size tells us surprisingly little about candidate preference, since small and large donors generally support similar candidates,” Pons said in an interview with The Center Square. “Contribution size primarily tells us about financial capacity and financial influence ... A $50 donation may come from someone who later gives much more.”
Funded by big and small donors
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrats’ Senate nominee in Michigan, actually received more contributions of $2,000 or more—$5.2 million—than $200 or less—$5.1 million, according to Federal Election Commission records through July 15.
Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Democratic nominee for a House seat in New York, raised roughly equal amounts from both contributions, according to FEC data through June 30. She received $438,000 in contributions of $2,000 or more and $467,000 from donations of $200 or less.
Her fellow New York City Democratic nominee, Claire Valdez, raised $475,000 from donations of $2,000 or more and $689,000 from donations of $200 or less, according to FEC records through June 30.
Chris Rabb, the Democratic nominee for a House seat in Pennsylvania, raised $305,000 from contributions of $2,000 or more and $390,000 from donations of $200 or less, according to FEC data from Oct. 6, 2023, through June 30.
The campaigns of El-Sayed, Avila Chevalier, Valdez, and Rabb did not immediately respond to a request for an interview.
Not just progressive candidates
The pattern isn't unique to candidates' campaign committees. Progressive political groups and leadership PACs also rely heavily on large contributions.
Justice Democrats, a progressive political action committee, describes itself as "powered by grassroots donations."
But its campaign-finance records show that the PAC is largely funded by large contributions. Its contribution-size data show that $4.7 million, or 71%, came from contributions of $2,000 or more through June 30, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Justice Democrats are not alone.
The leadership PAC of DSA members Chevalier and Valdez, the Avila Chevalier and Valdez Victory Fund, has an even more pronounced tilt toward large contributions.
The PAC raised about $165,000 through June 30, according to FEC data. About $145,000 came in contributions of $2,000 or more. Just $151 came from contributions of $200 or less.
Different donors, same agenda
Like the Justice Democrats, El-Sayed, Chevalier, Valdez, and Rabb share similar views on high-profile DSA issues. They support Medicare for All, universal childcare, and seek to abolish the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, according to their candidate pages.
That's the same agenda advocated by Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, who receives nearly all of her funding from small donors.
She raised $29.1 million from contributors who gave $200 or less and $335,000 from those who gave $2,000 or more to her congressional campaign from last year through June 30, according to FEC data. Her leadership PAC, Courage to Change, received $178,000 of its $207,000 in individual contributions from those who gave $200 or less, about 86%. Her campaign did not return a request for an interview.
The research of Pons and his three co-authors was echoed by two political scientists, Ray La Raja of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Zach Albert of Brandeis University.
In their 2026 book "Small Donors in US Politics: Myth and Reality," La Raja and Albert examined federal campaign financial records alongside survey data from 2012 to 2020. They found that small and large donors had more in common with one another than ordinary citizens, especially in ideology and partisanship.
Thirty-one percent of donors described themselves as very liberal or very conservative, while 18% of ordinary citizens described themselves that way. Eighty-three percent of large donors and 79% of small donors said they were strong Democrats or Republicans. By contrast, 41% of ordinary citizens said they were.
Political scientists have found differences between small-dollar and wealthy donors. Albert and La Raja found that small donors were more likely to be female than large donors. Pons and his co-authors found that small donors are not as affluent as large donors. Yet political scientists discovered that they also share key similarities. “They remain disproportionately white and affluent,” Pons said.
Candidates rely on more than direct contributions to pay for their campaigns. They also benefit from indirect support. Outside groups such as PACs spend money independently to support them.
George Soros: PAC man
One outside group supporting progressive candidates is Working Families Party PAC. The hybrid PAC donated $5,000 both to El-Sayed's Senate campaign on Aug. 27 and to the House campaign of Donavan McKinney in Michigan on March 11.
Working Families Party PAC has also supported progressive congressional candidates through independent expenditures, at least five of whom, including McKinney, received endorsements from the Democratic Socialists of America. This spending is done without consulting the campaign directly or indirectly and pays for campaign infrastructure such as ads and organization.
Working Families Party PAC is often described by journalists as backed by organized labor. But this election cycle, it has received contributions from celebrities such as the actress Jane Fonda through her Jane Fonda Climate PAC, which has given $20,000 this year, as well as actress Cynthia Nixon from the 1990s HBO television series "Sex and the City" and Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen, each of whom contributed $10,000.
Working Families Party PAC also received $6.5 million from Democracy PAC, a PAC linked to entities associated with George Soros.
The figure was 26% of the $25 million in receipts the Working Families Party PAC received through Aug. 31. By contrast, $1.5 million came from contributions of $200 or less. Neither the Working Families Party PAC nor the Open Society Foundations, 501(c)(3) organizations founded by Soros, responded to a request for an interview.
One candidate the Working Families Party PAC supports is McKinney, the DSA-endorsed Democrat running for a Michigan House seat.
The PAC spent $380,000 in independent expenditures to support McKinney, including on direct mail and texts, among others. By contrast, McKinney received $241,000 McKinney in direct contributions of $2,000 or more through June 30.
Another is El-Sayed, the Democrats’ nominee for the Senate in Michigan, endorsed by Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent. The Working Families Party PAC spent $170,000 in independent expenditures to back El-Sayed's candidacy through Aug. 31. That included $90,000 for two television ads in late July, on the eve of his primary election.
A third is Rabb, the Democrats’ nominee for a House seat in Pennsylvania. The Working Families Party PAC gave $457,000 in independent expenditures to support Rabb’s campaign, including $250,000 for two TV ads on the eve of his primary election in May.
