BUDGET WATCHDOGS
$7.84M
2025-2026 cycle
BUDGET WATCHDOGS is a political services vendor. In the 2025-2026 cycle BUDGET WATCHDOGS was paid $7.84M across 175 client committees, of which $775K flowed through Independent Expenditures rather than direct committee payments.
Part I Identity
Stable facts about this entity. These figures do not change as you adjust the timeframe in Part II.
Source split
$7.84M
=
$7.06M
(Schedule B)
+
$775K
(Independent Expenditures)
| Schedule B direct committee payments |
$7,063,143 | 754 rows | 90.1% |
| Independent Expenditures money this entity spent supporting candidates, NOT a committee paying them |
$774,798 | 61 rows | 9.9% |
- Activity span ALL TIME
- Mar 2, 2012 → May 21, 2026
- spans 14.2 years
- Disbursements ALL TIME
- 754
- Schedule B + IE rows
- Client committees ALL TIME
- 175
- distinct payers
Part II Activity in selected window
One timeframe control governs all three panels below. Change it once and the trajectory, top buyers, and party breakdown all update together.
Spend trajectory
Monthly spend to this vendor over the last 12 months.
Jun 2025
May 2026
$262K
across 12 months
Top buyers
Two views of the same data — diagram and table share the time-window control and the same top-buyers slice. Click "View all buyers in research" to drill in with the matching date range.
VIEW 1 DIAGRAM DECORATIVE
Top buyers last 1 months · top 2
VIEW 2 TABLE EXPORTABLE
| Filer | Total spend | Disbursements |
|---|---|---|
| WAGNER FOR SECRETARY OF STATE 2026 1482695 |
$13,250 | 1 |
| VOTER NEWSLETTER; A PROJECT OF THE COALITION FOR CALIFORNIA 1355767 |
$565 | 1 |
VIEW 1 DIAGRAM DECORATIVE
Top buyers last 3 months · top 10
VIEW 2 TABLE EXPORTABLE
| Filer | Total spend | Disbursements |
|---|---|---|
| BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 1345115 |
$58,883 | 5 |
| VOTER NEWSLETTER; A PROJECT OF THE COALITION FOR CALIFORNIA 1355767 |
$37,235 | 8 |
| SHAW FOR SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 2026 1479719 |
$25,000 | 1 |
| ROMERO FOR LT. GOVERNOR 2026; GLORIA 1486862 |
$20,000 | 1 |
| WAGNER FOR SECRETARY OF STATE 2026 1482695 |
$13,250 | 1 |
| SHERMAN, BRAD CA · House DEM |
$9,268 | 1 |
| HAYES FOR ASSEMBLY 2026; RICKEY 1488877 |
$3,239 | 1 |
| GAINES FOR SUPERVISOR 2026 1478940 |
$2,346 | 1 |
| NORDBLUM FOR STATE ASSEMBLY 2026 1477458 |
$1,500 | 1 |
| MAGSIG FOR STATE SENATE 2026 1478147 |
$1,404 | 1 |
VIEW 1 DIAGRAM DECORATIVE
Top buyers last 6 months · top 10
VIEW 2 TABLE EXPORTABLE
| Filer | Total spend | Disbursements |
|---|---|---|
| BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 1345115 |
$113,580 | 8 |
| VOTER NEWSLETTER; A PROJECT OF THE COALITION FOR CALIFORNIA 1355767 |
$37,235 | 8 |
| SHAW FOR SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 2026 1479719 |
$25,000 | 1 |
| ROMERO FOR LT. GOVERNOR 2026; GLORIA 1486862 |
$20,000 | 1 |
| ALVARADO-GIL FOR SENATE 2026 1457661 |
$16,213 | 1 |
| COOLIDGE FOR ASSEMBLY 2026; ANDREW 1476977 |
$16,132 | 1 |
| WAGNER FOR SECRETARY OF STATE 2026 1482695 |
$13,250 | 1 |
| SHERMAN, BRAD CA · House DEM |
$9,268 | 1 |
| HAYES FOR ASSEMBLY 2026; RICKEY 1488877 |
$3,239 | 1 |
| GAINES FOR SUPERVISOR 2026 1478940 |
$2,346 | 1 |
VIEW 1 DIAGRAM DECORATIVE
Top buyers last 12 months · top 10
VIEW 2 TABLE EXPORTABLE
| Filer | Total spend | Disbursements |
|---|---|---|
| BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 1345115 |
$114,580 | 9 |
| VOTER NEWSLETTER; A PROJECT OF THE COALITION FOR CALIFORNIA 1355767 |
$37,235 | 8 |
| SHAW FOR SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 2026 1479719 |
$25,000 | 1 |
| ROMERO FOR LT. GOVERNOR 2026; GLORIA 1486862 |
$20,000 | 1 |
| ALVARADO-GIL FOR SENATE 2026 1457661 |
$17,173 | 2 |
| COOLIDGE FOR ASSEMBLY 2026; ANDREW 1476977 |
$16,132 | 1 |
| WAGNER FOR SECRETARY OF STATE 2026 1482695 |
$13,250 | 1 |
| SHERMAN, BRAD CA · House DEM |
$9,268 | 1 |
| HAYES FOR ASSEMBLY 2026; RICKEY 1488877 |
$3,239 | 1 |
| GAINES FOR SUPERVISOR 2026 1478940 |
$2,346 | 1 |
VIEW 1 DIAGRAM DECORATIVE
Top buyers last 18 months · top 10
VIEW 2 TABLE EXPORTABLE
| Filer | Total spend | Disbursements |
|---|---|---|
| BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 1345115 |
$114,580 | 9 |
| VOTER NEWSLETTER; A PROJECT OF THE COALITION FOR CALIFORNIA 1355767 |
$37,235 | 8 |
| SHAW FOR SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 2026 1479719 |
$25,000 | 1 |
| ROMERO FOR LT. GOVERNOR 2026; GLORIA 1486862 |
$20,000 | 1 |
| ALVARADO-GIL FOR SENATE 2026 1457661 |
$17,173 | 2 |
| COOLIDGE FOR ASSEMBLY 2026; ANDREW 1476977 |
$16,132 | 1 |
| WAGNER FOR SECRETARY OF STATE 2026 1482695 |
$13,250 | 1 |
| SHERMAN, BRAD CA · House DEM |
$9,268 | 1 |
| HAYES FOR ASSEMBLY 2026; RICKEY 1488877 |
$3,239 | 1 |
| GAINES FOR SUPERVISOR 2026 1478940 |
$2,346 | 1 |
VIEW 1 DIAGRAM DECORATIVE
Top buyers last 24 months · top 10
VIEW 2 TABLE EXPORTABLE
| Filer | Total spend | Disbursements |
|---|---|---|
| BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 1345115 |
$648,063 | 33 |
| VOTER NEWSLETTER; A PROJECT OF THE COALITION FOR CALIFORNIA 1355767 |
$37,235 | 8 |
| GARVEY, STEVE CA · Senate REP |
$30,000 | 1 |
| SHAW FOR SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 2026 1479719 |
$25,000 | 1 |
| CALVERT, KEN CA · House REP |
$23,000 | 1 |
| 478535 478535 |
$20,485 | 6 |
| ROMERO FOR LT. GOVERNOR 2026; GLORIA 1486862 |
$20,000 | 1 |
| ALVARADO-GIL FOR SENATE 2026 1457661 |
$17,173 | 2 |
| COOLIDGE FOR ASSEMBLY 2026; ANDREW 1476977 |
$16,132 | 1 |
| WAGNER FOR SECRETARY OF STATE 2026 1482695 |
$13,250 | 1 |
By party
Revenue by party
D · 9%
R · 91%
| Party | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic | $33,232 | 0.42% |
| Republican | $352,280 | 4.49% |
| Non-partisan | $7,452,429 | 95.08% |
Part III Reference tables
Full all-time and cycle-to-date data.
Cycle-over-cycle trajectory
current cycle earlier election cycle off-cycle year quarterly · 10 years
Per-quarter totals
| Year | Q | Cycle | Total | Txns | Top buyer · share | Top category · share | Cum. (cycle) | YoY % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Q1 | 2016 | $40K | 4 | GAINES FOR BOE 2018; TAXPAY… 65% | Other / Unclassified 90% | $40K | — |
| 2017 | Q3 | 2016 | $97K | 4 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 100% | Other / Unclassified 85% | $137K | — |
| 2017 | Q4 | 2016 | $71K | 3 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 63% | Print & Mail 88% | $209K | — |
| 2017 | Q4 | 2018 | $2K | 1 | C00512202 100% | Media 100% | $2K | — |
| 2018 | Q1 | 2018 | $350K | 19 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 79% | Print & Mail 51% | $352K | — |
| 2018 | Q2 | 2018 | $159K | 31 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 57% | Other / Unclassified 90% | $510K | — |
| 2018 | Q3 | 2018 | $555K | 23 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 90% | Other / Unclassified 72% | $1.07M | — |
| 2018 | Q4 | 2018 | $121K | 8 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 75% | Other / Unclassified 95% | $1.19M | — |
| 2019 | Q2 | 2018 | $8K | 1 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 100% | Other / Unclassified 100% | $1.19M | — |
| 2019 | Q2 | 2020 | $16K | 1 | C00700807 100% | Other / Unclassified 100% | $16K | — |
| 2019 | Q3 | 2018 | $8K | 3 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 69% | Print & Mail 69% | $1.2M | -92% |
| 2019 | Q4 | 2018 | $20K | 3 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 100% | Other / Unclassified 95% | $1.22M | -71% |
| 2019 | Q4 | 2020 | $15K | 2 | OBERNOLTE, JAY 93% | Print & Mail 100% | $30K | +876% |
| 2020 | Q1 | 2020 | $147K | 31 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 60% | Print & Mail 63% | $177K | -58% |
| 2020 | Q2 | 2020 | $7K | 4 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 100% | Print & Mail 74% | $184K | -96% |
| 2020 | Q3 | 2020 | $571K | 34 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 86% | Other / Unclassified 67% | $755K | +3% |
| 2020 | Q4 | 2020 | $67K | 13 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 79% | Other / Unclassified 55% | $822K | -45% |
| 2021 | Q2 | 2020 | $20K | 1 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 100% | Other / Unclassified 100% | $842K | +146% |
| 2021 | Q3 | 2020 | $2K | 1 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 100% | Print & Mail 100% | $843K | -77% |
| 2022 | Q1 | 2022 | $204K | 9 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 83% | Print & Mail 87% | $204K | +38% |
| 2022 | Q2 | 2022 | $472K | 49 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 80% | Print & Mail 76% | $676K | +6555% |
| 2022 | Q3 | 2022 | $212K | 26 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 52% | Other / Unclassified 80% | $887K | -63% |
| 2022 | Q4 | 2022 | $114K | 10 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 100% | Other / Unclassified 92% | $1M | +71% |
| 2023 | Q1 | 2022 | $2K | 1 | ROCKLIN POLITICAL ACTION CO… 100% | Contributions & Trans… 100% | $1M | — |
| 2023 | Q3 | 2022 | $4K | 1 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 100% | Print & Mail 100% | $1.01M | +117% |
| 2023 | Q4 | 2022 | $4K | 1 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 100% | Print & Mail 100% | $1.01M | — |
| 2023 | Q4 | 2024 | $10K | 2 | ARCHULETA, BOB 100% | Print & Mail 100% | $10K | — |
| 2024 | Q1 | 2024 | $280K | 31 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 42% | Other / Unclassified 62% | $291K | +38% |
| 2024 | Q3 | 2024 | $355K | 25 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 84% | Print & Mail 78% | $646K | +68% |
| 2024 | Q4 | 2024 | $281K | 18 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 84% | Print & Mail 90% | $927K | +147% |
| 2025 | Q3 | 2024 | $2K | 2 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 50% | Other / Unclassified 50% | $929K | -51% |
| 2025 | Q4 | 2024 | $960 | 1 | ALVARADO-GIL FOR SENATE 2026 100% | Other / Unclassified 100% | $930K | -76% |
| 2026 | Q1 | 2026 | $112K | 8 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 61% | Other / Unclassified 76% | $112K | -60% |
| 2026 | Q2 | 2026 | $147K | 18 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 31% | Print & Mail 11% | $259K | — |
Revenue by service category
No category revenue in this window.
Per-category breakdown · cycle-to-date
| Category | Total spend | Txns | Avg check | % of total | Top buyer · share | Last paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Print & Mail | $3,610,973 | 389 | $9K | 52.2% | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 83% | 4w ago |
| Other / Unclassified | $3,253,014 | 337 | $10K | 47.1% | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 71% | 8w ago |
| Media | $33,744 | 10 | $3K | 0.5% | 478535 61% | 20mo ago |
| Contributions & Transfers | $13,872 | 6 | $2K | 0.2% | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 65% | 3y ago |
| Digital | $750 | 1 | $750 | 0.0% | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER 100% | 6y ago |
Client retention
Sticky-relationship signal: how many clients keep coming back across cycles vs one-time buyers.
6
Anchor clients 3+ cycles
$5,583,941 · 79% of revenue
13
Repeat clients 2 cycles
$293,464 · 4% of revenue
156
One-time clients 1 cycle
$1,185,738 · 17% of revenue
Top 6 anchor clients · all-time
| Client | Cycles | All-time spend | Txns | First paid | Last paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER | 8 | $5,366,676 | 457 | 2012-03-02 | 2026-05-01 |
| CALVERT, KEN | 4 | $88,720 | 8 | 2018-04-05 | 2024-07-31 |
| CALIFORNIA HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION | 4 | $44,760 | 11 | 2014-09-22 | 2024-07-17 |
| OBERNOLTE, JAY | 3 | $33,870 | 5 | 2019-10-11 | 2024-09-04 |
| STEEL, MICHELLE | 3 | $26,808 | 4 | 2020-01-03 | 2024-10-04 |
| INLAND EMPIRE TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION | 3 | $23,107 | 10 | 2014-09-26 | 2022-09-19 |
Geographic concentration
Where this vendor's clients are based — federal committees by state, plus implicit jurisdiction for CA and TX state filers.
| State | Total spend | % of revenue | Clients | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CA | $6,918,490 | 98.0% | 157 | |
| Unknown | $110,783 | 1.6% | 17 | |
| GA | $33,870 | 0.5% | 1 |
Notable disbursements
5 largest all-time · 5 largest in the current cycle · 5 most recent. Each row earns its place.
| Reason | Date | Filer | Category | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largest all-time | 2018-08-16 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER | Other / Unclassified | — | $250,000 |
| Largest all-time | 2020-07-27 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER | Other / Unclassified | — | $144,900 |
| Largest all-time | 2020-08-19 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER | Other / Unclassified | — | $140,000 |
| Largest all-time | 2020-08-28 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER | Print & Mail | SLATE MAILER | $140,000 |
| Largest all-time | 2022-04-20 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER | Print & Mail | Slate Mailer Costs | $137,500 |
| Largest this cycle | 2026-01-30 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER | Other / Unclassified | — | $37,304 |
| Largest this cycle | 2026-04-20 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER | — | — | $37,304 |
| Largest this cycle | 2026-04-21 | SHAW FOR SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 2026 | — | — | $25,000 |
| Largest this cycle | 2026-04-30 | ROMERO FOR LT. GOVERNOR 2026; GLORIA | — | — | $20,000 |
| Largest this cycle | 2026-01-15 | ALVARADO-GIL FOR SENATE 2026 | Other / Unclassified | — | $16,213 |
| Recent | 2026-05-08 | WAGNER FOR SECRETARY OF STATE 2026 | — | — | $13,250 |
| Recent | 2026-05-06 | VOTER NEWSLETTER; A PROJECT OF THE COALITION FOR CALIFORNIA | Print & Mail | Slate Card Mailer | $5,293 |
| Recent | 2026-05-01 | BUDGET WATCHDOGS NEWSLETTER | Print & Mail | Slate Card | $1,000 |
| Recent | 2026-05-21 | VOTER NEWSLETTER; A PROJECT OF THE COALITION FOR CALIFORNIA | — | Slate Mail | $565 |