Between 2019 and 2023, businesses donated nearly $1 million to County PACs and Political Committees.

The data below and prior articles on this topic do not include donations to individual candidates or contributions to state and national political campaigns.

The top five contributing business sectors, ranked by total dollars donated, are:

Engineering (primarily related to property development and civil engineering)

Insurance

Building Trades and Materials

Legal

Automotive Sales/Services

These five sectors account for over 60% of the contributions made during this five-year period.

Their prominent role in local campaign financing reflects their close connection to projects and policies that can significantly impact communities.

Notably, the top ten individual businesses, out of 296 total contributors, were responsible for one-third of the total contributions from 2019 through 2023.

As highlighted yesterday, labor unions also represent a substantial portion of contributions flowing into PACs and Committees.

When considered alongside the significant contributions from Engineering, Building Trades/Materials and Real Estate interests, this underscores the strong presence of sectors tied to development and infrastructure. While these contributions may reflect the legitimate interests of these groups in shaping policies and projects, they also highlight the importance of transparency and accountability in local governance.

New Jersey residents should examine local projects and financial allocations more closely, particularly when amounts fall under bidding requirement thresholds consistently.

As noted above, the three pieces published on this topic over the past weeks only cover a fraction of the money influencing political campaigns. This analysis does not address individual contributors to PACs and Committees—who often list their businesses as donors—or direct contributions to candidates at any level.

While this article focuses on trends and highlights key patterns, it is important to recognize that campaign contributions, by themselves, do not imply wrongdoing.

The goal is to encourage informed public engagement and greater awareness of how campaign funding shapes local communities.

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