James R. Baird
Republican
· IN-4 · 119th Congress
and Research (Chair) · House Committee on Science (Chair) · House Committee on Agriculture · and Credit · and Biotechnology · and Poultry · and Department Operations · House Committee on Foreign Affairs · and Technology
Influence Score
45.9
Least exposed
↓ -1.0
vs 118th (46.9)
— ◊ —
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
1.7
/ 12
Outside spendingmoney spent by groups to help elect them
1.6
/ 6
Spent to help elect them
$710,185
Outside groups that spent to help elect this member — this drives the outside-spending bar above
Spent to defeat this member
$200,000
Outside groups that spent to defeat this member (not counted in this score)
Lobbyinghow hard lobbyists push the committees this member sits on
4.7
/ 10
Vote alignmenthow often they vote the way their donors want
9.1
/ 12
Contribution timingmoney arriving near key votes
0.0
/ 6
Stock tradesbuying stocks in industries they regulate
0.0
/ 1
Dark moneyfunding from groups that hide their donors
0.0
/ 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
2.7
/ 10
Committee jurisdiction powerthe legislative reach of the committees this member sits on
3.3
/ 10
Foreign interestforeign-interest money — Israel-policy PACs and FARA-registered institutional lobbying allocated by committee jurisdiction
2.0
/ 12
FARA institutional lobbying
This member’s committees are targeted by $38.14M 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 — $76K.
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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 | 35.3 | Least exposed |
| 117th · 2021-2023 | 38.4 | Least exposed |
| 118th · 2023-2025 | 46.9 | Moderately exposed |
| 119th · 2025-2027 | 45.9 | Least exposed |
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Biggest funding source
The single network behind the most money and influence
Network
SPIRIT OF DEMOCRACY AMERICA
Total money from this network
$27,500
Number of funding networks contributing
1
— ◊ —
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
FAIRSHAKE
Share from this one network
43.2%
Amount from this network
$513,868
Total from all networks
$1,188,572
Networks contributing
140
— ◊ —
Who funds Baird
Every funding network we can measure, ranked by influence
$1,006,735
— ◊ —
Does the money match their power?
Whether their money comes from the industries their committees actually oversee
Money from industries they regulate
0.4%
Extra weight when money matches their committees
2.00×
Share of outside spending tied to their policy areas
0.0%
— ◊ —
Money timed to key votes
Donations arriving near key votes in the policy areas this member regulates
No suspicious timing patterns detected.
— ◊ —
Top Donors
Biggest sources of contributions, grouped by employer, this cycle
NICOSON FARMING
$13K
HANNING BEAN
$8K
SMITHVILLE COMMUNICATIONS
$6K
NICOSON FARMING
$6K
HOMEMAKER
$6K
GAYLOR ELECTRIC
$5K
SCHAHET HOTELS
$5K
IRWIN R ROSE
$4K
BOSE MCKINNEY EVANS
$4K
GAYLOR ELECTRIC
$4K
HOMEMAKER
$4K
A10 ASSOCIATES
$3K
GAYLOR ELECTRIC
$3K
RELENTLESS DEALER SERVICES
$3K
BARNES THORNBURG LLP
$3K
BARNES AND THORNBURG LLP
$3K
BEAM LONGES AND NEFF
$3K
CROWN QUEST OPERATING
$3K
KEYSTONE CONSTRUCTION
$3K
ZIDD AGENCY
$3K
Where the outside money comes from
How much of the outside spending for and against James R. Baird comes from groups that disclose their donors versus groups that hide them
By funding network
FAIRSHAKE
$514K
HOMELAND PAC INC
$200K
AMERICAN LEADERSHIP PAC
$178K
WITH HONOR FUND II, INC.
$38K
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS CONGRESSIONAL FUND
$12K
REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP FUND INC.
$7K
NATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE VICTORY FUND
$5K
THE GUARDIAN FUND
$902
TOGETHER WE THRIVE
$750
PARTY_C00006486
$653
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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.
17 individuals who also gave to pro-Israel PACs contributed $102K to James R. Baird across 18 contributions.
Total from shared contributors
$102K
Shared contributors
17
Contributions
18
By cycle
| Cycle | Shared donors | Gifts | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 16 | 16 | $77K |
| 2024 | 2 | 2 | $26K |
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Revolving Door
1 former staff member
who worked for James R. Baird or the committees they serve are now registered lobbyists.
| Lobbyist | Former position | Firm | Clients | Filings | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QUINCY CUNNINGHAM | Congressman Jim Baird (2019-2022); Congressman Luke Messer (2016-2019 | BOSE PUBLIC AFFAIRS GROUP | 5 | 51 | 2023–2025 |
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James R. Baird ranks among the least exposed members of this Congress relative to their colleagues. Money may flow, but the votes do not track the top funding networks. Least exposed is a relative position, not a finding of no exposure.
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