How much has Walmart's PAC given to Republicans versus Democrats in recent elections?
Executive summary
Walmart’s federal PAC (commonly called WALPAC or Walmart Inc. PAC) has leaned modestly Republican in recent cycles for direct candidate giving, but the company’s wider political spending — including Walton family donations and “issue” PACs — has flowed far more heavily to conservative causes and Republican-aligned committees [1] [2] [3]. Public reporting shows WALPAC’s 2023–2024 federal candidate disbursements totaled $1,157,500, with at least $441,500 explicitly documented to Democrats in that cycle and the remainder going to Republicans and other recipients [1] [4].
1. WALPAC’s recent federal candidate totals: a near‑even, modest Republican tilt
Federal records compiled by OpenSecrets show WALPAC gave $1,157,500 to federal candidates in the 2023–2024 cycle, and Reuters’ analysis of FEC data reported that WALPAC had contributed at least $441,500 to Democratic members of Congress during that election — which implies roughly $716,000 went to Republicans and other recipients in that same period [1] [4]. Looking at the prior 2021–2022 midterm cycle, Business Insider reported WALPAC spent about $956,000 on federal candidates and that amount was split roughly 53% to Republicans and 47% to Democrats, a near‑parity that nevertheless edged Republican [2].
2. Context matters: WALPAC vs. Walton family and issue PAC spending
Those relatively close party splits for WALPAC stand in sharp contrast to broader Walton-family and corporate political activity: advocacy groups and union research have documented that when company, family and associated issue PACs are combined, the aggregate flows heavily toward Republican and conservative causes — United for Respect says overall political spending by Walmart and the Waltons favors Republicans by more than five‑to‑one and that over $22 million flowed into nominally “non‑partisan” issue PACs that support conservative agendas [3]. Historical analyses from the UFCW also trace a long‑term pattern: since 2000 more than two‑thirds of Walmart/Walton giving went to Republican candidates and committees [5].
3. Notable patterns and controversies within the giving
Reporting has flagged that WALPAC and related Walmart giving sometimes reached candidates who later objected to certifying the 2020 election; Business Insider and Popular Information document that WALPAC donated to some signers of election objections and that corporate pauses and policy changes followed the January 6 fallout [2] [6]. Newsweek covered Walmart’s temporary decision to stop giving to lawmakers who opposed certification in early 2021, an action that illustrates how political controversies can reshape corporate PAC behavior even if overall partisan balance returns over time [7].
4. Limits of the public record and where numbers diverge
Precise party breakdowns depend on which “Walmart” entity is counted: the Walmart Inc. PAC (federal WALPAC), discrete state or issue PACs, direct corporate donations, and Walton‑family personal giving are reported across multiple FEC and disclosure systems and advocacy trackers, which creates divergent totals and emphases in different reports; the FEC committee page provides raw filings but many watchdog and media reports (OpenSecrets, Reuters, Business Insider, United for Respect) interpret and aggregate those filings differently [8] [1] [4] [2] [3]. Where sources diverge, reporting is explicit: OpenSecrets gives the WALPAC federal total ($1,157,500) for 2023–2024 [1], Reuters isolates Democratic recipients ($441,500) from FEC analysis [4], and Business Insider provides the 2021–2022 split [2].
5. Bottom line: PAC giving vs. ecosystem of corporate political influence
The straightforward answer is that WALPAC’s direct federal candidate spending in recent cycles has been only modestly tilted toward Republicans (roughly a 60/40 split in 2023–2024 implied by available numbers, and about 53/47 R/D in 2021–2022), but the broader ecosystem of Walmart/Walton political spending — especially issue PACs and family contributions — has been far more heavily Republican/conservative, a distinction that matters for assessing political influence [1] [4] [2] [3] [5]. For readers seeking granular line‑item party tallies, the FEC committee filings and OpenSecrets’ PAC pages remain the primary documents to reconcile any remaining discrepancies [8] [1].