This year features plenty of elections. But while the first votes have yet to be cash, cash began flowing, including political contributions from farmers.
Restrictions on how money is raised and spent are mixed. But campaign finance information is available – if you know where to look. The Federal Election Commission has a large database of contributions and expenditures, available online.
Some of these contributions are made by farmers, and we sorted through the filings to compile interactive maps that show where the Ag money is coming from, and where it's going.
Farmers put cash into campaigns and causes (Thinkstock/4zevar)
Iowa is a key presidential battleground with its first-in-the-nation caucuses. But much of the early money from farmers came from the coasts, especially California and the northeast.
Click the points on our map of these donations to find out how much was given, when and to whom.
While the race for president will get the most headlines, most of the money in the first year of the 2015-2016 election cycle went to causes and committees. Our interactive map of individual donations by farmers details each of these contributions.
We also aggregated these donations, showing which counties around the U.S. gave the most. Some of these concentrations are obvious, such as the big ag areas in California. But the Red River Valley in North Dakota and Minnesota saw some of the largest totals, made by sugar beet growers. Click the counties below to see how much came from your area.
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