Christopher H. Smith
Republican
· NJ-4 · 119th Congress
Global Health (Chair) · Global Human Rights (Chair) · and International Organizations (Chair) · and Global Human Rights (Chair) · House Committee on Foreign Affairs · Civilian Security · and Trade
Influence Score
31.0
Least exposed
↓ -5.3
vs 118th (36.5)
— ◊ —
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
2.2
/ 12
Outside spendingmoney spent by groups to help elect them
1.4
/ 6
Spent to help elect them
$313,650
Outside groups that spent to help elect this member — this drives the outside-spending bar above
Spent to defeat this member
$16,258
Outside groups that spent to defeat this member (not counted in this score)
Lobbyinghow hard lobbyists push the committees this member sits on
2.6
/ 10
Vote alignmenthow often they vote the way their donors want
2.8
/ 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
0.1
/ 2
Outbound money distributionmoney this member sends out to the party and to colleagues
7.6
/ 16
Cluster network breadthhow many coordinated funding networks back this member
3.0
/ 10
Committee jurisdiction powerthe legislative reach of the committees this member sits on
2.4
/ 10
Foreign interestforeign-interest money — Israel-policy PACs and FARA-registered institutional lobbying allocated by committee jurisdiction
0.4
/ 12
Israel-policy PACs behind this score
NORPAC
$15,051 direct
AMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
$15,006 direct
FARA institutional lobbying
This member’s committees are targeted by $12.57M in lobbying from FARA-registered firms representing South Korea, Japan, China. This exposure is weighted at 0.2% of face value in the score — $25K.
— ◊ —
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 | 34.8 | Least exposed |
| 117th · 2021-2023 | 33.1 | Least exposed |
| 118th · 2023-2025 | 36.5 | Least exposed |
| 119th · 2025-2027 | 31.2 | Least exposed |
— ◊ —
Biggest funding source
The single network behind the most money and influence
Network
VETERANS AID PAC
Total money from this network
$296,169
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
UNITE THE COUNTRY
Share from this one network
5.0%
Amount from this network
$45,500
Total from all networks
$903,992
Networks contributing
139
— ◊ —
Who funds Smith
Every funding network we can measure, ranked by influence
$705,528
— ◊ —
Does the money match their power?
Whether their money comes from the industries their committees actually oversee
Money from industries they regulate
0.0%
Extra weight when money matches their committees
2.00×
Share of outside spending tied to their policy areas
100.0%
— ◊ —
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
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
$6.43M
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
$6.33M
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL
$5.67M
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
$3.02M
PLUMBERS PIPEFITTERS LOCAL 9
$1.33M
USPS
$1.29M
UNITED PARCEL SERVICE
$1.29M
USPS
$1.29M
AMGEN
$1.29M
UNITED AIRLINES
$1.27M
AMGEN
$1.26M
CATERPILLAR
$1.26M
VERIZON RSRCS
$1.16M
CATERPILLAR
$1.13M
UNITED AIRLINES
$1.09M
VERIZON RSRCS
$1.09M
USPS
$1.09M
AT T SERVICES
$1.06M
BLOOMBERG
$1.00M
ASSET MANAGEMENT LLP
$1.00M
Where the outside money comes from
How much of the outside spending for and against Christopher H. Smith comes from groups that disclose their donors versus groups that hide them
Total outside spending received
$330K
Disclosed outside spending
$315K
Dark-money outside spending
$15K
Share that is dark money
4.55%
Dark money tied to their policy areas
$15K
Groups hiding their donors
2
By funding network
VETERANS AID PAC
$363K
HUMANE SOCIETY LEGISLATIVE FUND
$20K
DRAIN THE DC SWAMP PAC
$16K
NATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE VICTORY FUND
$15K
WOMEN SPEAK OUT PAC
$6K
NEW JERSEY RIGHT TO LIFE COMMITTEE FEDERAL PAC
$4K
FAMILY POLICY PAC
$500
DEMOCRACY PAC
$121
ENVIRONMENT AMERICA ACTION FUND
$28
INDIVISIBLE PROJECT INC.
$27
Groups that hide their donors
1 smaller group under $500
$8
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.
JEFFREY J KOLOZE
$8K
GEORGE ERBACHER
$3K
THOMAS MORRIS
$2K
EDWIN BOTERO
$300
NEVADANS FOR STEVEN HORSFORD
$80K
TITUS FOR CONGRESS
$80K
SUSIE LEE FOR CONGRESS
$79K
GEORGE SOROS
$525.74M
SMP
$81.00M
BLACKPAC
$47.25M
— ◊ —
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.
7 individuals who also gave to pro-Israel PACs contributed $7K to Christopher H. Smith across 12 contributions.
Total from shared contributors
$7K
Shared contributors
7
Contributions
12
By cycle
| Cycle | Shared donors | Gifts | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3 | 3 | $3K |
| 2024 | 2 | 3 | $1K |
| 2026 | 3 | 6 | $3K |
— ◊ —
Revolving Door
4 former staff members
who worked for Christopher H. Smith or the committees they serve are now registered lobbyists.
| Lobbyist | Former position | Firm | Clients | Filings | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CATHERINE FINLEY | Staff Director, Senate Special Aging Committee; Senior Health Policy Advisor, Se… | THORN RUN PARTNERS | 12 | 119 | 2023–2025 |
| ROBERT EPPLIN | LD Sen. Collins; LA Sen. Smith; Analyst, OMB Budget Review Division; Prof Staff,… | EPPLIN STRATEGIC PLANNING | 4 | 26 | 2023–2025 |
| ROBERT EPPLIN | LD Sen. Collins; LA Sen. Smith; Analyst, OMB Budget Review Division; Prof Staff,… | KED STRATEGIES, LLC | 4 | 34 | 2023–2025 |
| DANIEL TILLSON | Senator Roger Wicker; Special Assistant, Legislative Assistant Congressman Chris… | AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY | 1 | 1 | 2024–2024 |
— ◊ —
Christopher H. Smith 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