Shontel M. Brown
Democrat
· OH-11 · 119th Congress
Information Technology (Chair) · and Government Innovation (Chair) · House Committee on Agriculture · Risk Management · and Credit · House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform · House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party
Influence Score
71.7
Moderately exposed
↓ -1.7
vs 118th (73.4)
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This score measures financial influence across twelve categories. Each bar shows how this member compares to all others in Congress. Longer bars mean more exposure.
Score breakdown — twelve categories
Contributionsmoney from PACs (political action committees) and individual donors
6.3
/ 12
Outside spendingmoney spent by groups to help elect them
5.2
/ 6
Spent to help elect them
$7,640,264
Outside groups that spent to help elect this member — this drives the outside-spending bar above
Spent to defeat this member
$635,998
Outside groups that spent to defeat this member (not counted in this score)
Lobbyinghow hard lobbyists push the committees this member sits on
3.2
/ 10
Vote alignmenthow often they vote the way their donors want
8.0
/ 12
Contribution timingmoney arriving near key votes
1.5
/ 6
Stock tradesbuying stocks in industries they regulate
0.0
/ 1
Dark moneyfunding from groups that hide their donors
< 0.1
/ 2
Outbound money distributionmoney this member sends out to the party and to colleagues
10.7
/ 16
Cluster network breadthhow many coordinated funding networks back this member
7.1
/ 10
Committee jurisdiction powerthe legislative reach of the committees this member sits on
2.0
/ 10
Foreign interestforeign-interest money — Israel-policy PACs and FARA-registered institutional lobbying allocated by committee jurisdiction
10.4
/ 12
Israel-policy PACs behind this score
AMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
$26,169 direct
DMFI PAC
$1,000 direct · $5,730 outside spending
FARA institutional lobbying
This member’s committees are targeted by $15.59M in lobbying from FARA-registered firms representing South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia. This exposure is weighted at 0.2% of face value in the score — $31K.
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Score across four congresses
Score and tier for each Congress. Members are ranked against others in the same Congress, so tiers are comparable across rows. Raw scores reflect different data availability per Congress.
| Congress | Score | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| 116th · 2019-2021 | — | — |
| 117th · 2021-2023 | 27.1 | Least exposed |
| 118th · 2023-2025 | 73.4 | Highly exposed |
| 119th · 2025-2027 | 71.7 | Moderately exposed |
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Biggest funding source
The single network behind the most money and influence
Network
UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT ('UDP')
Total money from this network
$279,416
Number of funding networks contributing
1
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Where most of the money comes from
What share of their combined contributions and outside spending comes from a single network. Party committees are excluded.
Network
UNITED WE CAN
Share from this one network
2.0%
Amount from this network
$47,500
Total from all networks
$2,343,762
Networks contributing
350
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Who funds Brown
Every funding network we can measure, ranked by influence
$8,744,119
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Does the money match their power?
Whether their money comes from the industries their committees actually oversee
Money from industries they regulate
2.2%
Extra weight when money matches their committees
2.00×
Share of outside spending tied to their policy areas
56.3%
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Money timed to key votes
Donations arriving near key votes in the policy areas this member regulates
Times money arrived near a vote
4
Money that arrived near votes
$9K
Distinct donors
4
Distinct employers
4
Share of their total fundraising
1.26%
Biggest clusters of timed money
LATHAM WATKINS
$3K
RICHARD A HARPOOTLIAN LAW FIRM
$3K
JONES DAY
$1K
THOMPSON HINE LLP
$1K
HAHN LOESER PARKS LLP
$250
THE LAW FIRM FOR TRUCK SAFETY
$250
SUNNY M SIMON ATTORNEY AT LAW
$200
SUNNY M SIMON ATTORNEY AT LAW
$100
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Top Donors
Biggest sources of contributions, grouped by employer, this cycle
LATHAM WATKINS
$21K
CLEVELAND BROWNS
$18K
HOWARD PROPERTIES
$14K
OLYMPIC STEEL
$13K
MINUTEMEN FAMILY OF COMPANIES
$13K
TRANSDIGM
$13K
I MJ GROSS
$13K
REDWOOD LIVING
$13K
HOOVERMILSTEIN
$12K
KIRKLAND ELLIS LLP
$12K
BLACKSTONE
$12K
CARNEGIE
$12K
ELLIOTT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
$12K
FOREST CITY
$12K
IN-DEPTH ENGINEERING
$12K
MINUTEMEN FAMILY OF COMPANIES
$12K
MORINO VENTURES
$12K
STARK
$12K
KIRKLAND AND ELLIS
$12K
MALLARD INVESTMENTS
$12K
Where the outside money comes from
How much of the outside spending for and against Shontel M. Brown comes from groups that disclose their donors versus groups that hide them
Total outside spending received
$3.32M
Disclosed outside spending
$3.31M
Dark-money outside spending
$3K
Share that is dark money
0.10%
Dark money tied to their policy areas
$1K
Groups hiding their donors
3
By funding network
DMFI PAC
$3.75M
PROTECT OUR FUTURE PAC
$3.03M
THE DEMOCRATIC ACTION PAC
$886K
UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT ('UDP')
$241K
PRO-ISRAEL AMERICA ACTION FUND (PIA ACTION FUND)
$103K
NEW DEMOCRAT COALITION ACTION FUND
$100K
JDCA PAC
$84K
OUR FUTURE UNITED
$75K
ILLINOIS FUTURE PAC
$7K
OHIOANS FOR JUDICIAL INTEGRITY (OFJI)
$2K
STAND UP FOR OHIO (OHIO ORGANIZING CAMPAIGN)
$2K
FEMINIST MAJORITY
$735
SIERRA CLUB INDEPENDENT ACTION
$10
Groups that hide their donors
$735
Likely donors behind the dark money supporting this member
Inferred
Donors who fund the disclosed PACs in the same network as the hidden groups above. "Coverage" is how many of that network's disclosed groups a donor funds — the more they fund, the more likely they also back the hidden group.
ROBIN KELLY FOR SENATE
$22K
SHONTEL BROWN FOR CONGRESS
$22K
KAPTUR FOR CONGRESS
$50K
FRIENDS OF JAHANA HAYES
$39K
OHIO GRASSROOTS VICTORY FUND
$38K
SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED
$24K
JANELLE BYNUM FOR CONGRESS
$21K
BIDEN VICTORY FUND
$18K
MONDAIRE FOR CONGRESS
$15K
MCCLELLAN FOR CONGRESS
$12K
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Pro-Israel network donors
This counts contributions to this member from individuals whose FEC filings also show contributions to one of the 16 pro-Israel political action committees tracked by the Index. It is a measure of donor overlap — not a claim about why any individual gave, and not part of the influence score.
1,100 individuals who also gave to pro-Israel PACs contributed $1.22M to Shontel M. Brown across 1,440 contributions.
Total from shared contributors
$1.22M
Shared contributors
1,100
Contributions
1,440
By cycle
| Cycle | Shared donors | Gifts | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1,058 | 1,350 | $1.12M |
| 2024 | 50 | 64 | $64K |
| 2026 | 22 | 26 | $30K |
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Revolving Door
15 former staff members
who worked for Shontel M. Brown or the committees they serve are now registered lobbyists.
| Lobbyist | Former position | Firm | Clients | Filings | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAYSON BRAUDE | Office of Congresswoman Barragan, District Director; Office of Congresswoman Hah… | KILEY & ASSOCIATES | 28 | 209 | 2023–2025 |
| VINCENT SARUBBI | Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director, Rep. Josh Gottheimer; Legis. Ass… | DLA PIPER LLP (US) | 17 | 18 | 2025–2025 |
| COURTNEY MILLER | Legislative Director, Office of Rep. Shontel Brown, 02/2023-06/2023; Policy Advi… | THE FERGUSON GROUP, LLC | 10 | 37 | 2024–2025 |
| MICHAEL GAFFIN | Leg. Director, Sen. Sherrod Brown; Leg. Director, Rep. Rob Andrews; Leg. Asst., … | THE SMITH-FREE GROUP, LLC | 8 | 10 | 2023–2025 |
| JOHN BRENNAN | Chief of Staff, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT); Director, Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH); L… | BLUEBIRD STRATEGIES | 5 | 5 | 2023–2024 |
| RACHEL MOTLEY | Intern, Office of Senator Sherrod Brown | THE RABEN GROUP | 5 | 16 | 2023–2025 |
| JAYSON BRAUDE | Office of Congresswoman Barragan, District Director; Office of Congresswoman Hah… | ROJAS PUBLIC AFFAIRS | 5 | 19 | 2024–2024 |
| JAMES HEIMBACH | Special Asst. to the President for Leg. Affairs (2009-2011); Chief of Staff, Sen… | TIBER CREEK GROUP | 4 | 4 | 2023–2023 |
| ROBERT CLARK | Senator Brown | PYXIS PARTNERS, LLC | 1 | 2 | 2023–2025 |
| VINCENT SARUBBI | Legislative Assistant, Senator Sherrod Brown (2019-2022); Senior Legislative Ass… | MECHANICAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA | 1 | 1 | 2023–2023 |
| JASMINE THEOBAL | Communications Intern - Rep. Adriano Espaillat - US House of Representative Jan … | COVISTA INC.(FKA ADTALEM GLOBAL EDUCATION) | 1 | 1 | 2024–2024 |
| KEYARMIN HAMADANCHY | Counsel, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (Sen. Tom Ha… | AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION | 1 | 1 | 2023–2023 |
| COLBY SHOLLER | Office of Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) - September 2011 - March 2012 Senate Homeland … | NESTLE USA | 1 | 11 | 2023–2025 |
| ALEX CATANESE | Intern - Office of U.S. Representative Alcee Hastings (FL) Intern - Office of U.… | AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION | 1 | 1 | 2024–2024 |
| OWEN CAINE | Intern, Sen. Ted Kennedy; Intern, Senate Homeland Security Committee, Sen. Scott… | NATIONAL APARTMENT ASSOCIATION | 1 | 1 | 2025–2025 |
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Shontel M. Brown sits in the middle of this Congress on the index. There is a measured sponsor relationship, but the vote-alignment signal is weaker — money flows; the votes do not follow in lockstep.
Data: FEC (Federal Election Commission) filings · 118th–119th Congress · lobbying disclosures · VoteView recorded votes
All findings derived programmatically from public records · No prior knowledge required
All findings derived programmatically from public records · No prior knowledge required