www.lesswrong.com/posts/nSqB3qYP36enJLRq2/gears-for-political-races

This post is about a U.S. House race (NY-12), so the relevant rules are the Federal Election Commission's federal contribution limits. The FEC says the 2025–2026 individual limit is $3,500 per election, per candidate — not a single $3,500 cap total.

That means a donor can typically give $3,500 for the primary and $3,500 for the general election, for $7,000 total across the cycle if the candidate advances. The FEC's candidate guidance also explicitly says that "a primary, general, runoff and special election are each considered a separate election with a separate limit."

So the statement that donations are capped at "~$3.5k per person" is inaccurate for federal candidate committees like a House campaign: the cap is per election, not per person overall.