Never make an uninformed purchase again. This roundup reviews the five best tools available for researching corporate political donations before you spend, including ShopHowYouVote.com, Goods Unite Us, 2ndVote, OpenSecrets, and the FEC's own database. We compare each platform by ease of use, database depth, mobile functionality, and political coverage, helping values-driven consumers find the right tool for their shopping habits. Whether you're a casual browser or a committed political shopper, one of these tools belongs in your pocket.
The good news for political consumers in 2025 is that the research infrastructure has never
been better - or more accessible. Five years ago, getting actionable corporate political donation
data into shoppers' hands required significant time, FEC navigation literacy, and tolerance for
government web interfaces clearly not designed for the grocery aisle. Today, five purpose-built
platforms have done all that heavy lifting. Here are the best tools currently available, each
with distinct strengths worth understanding before you choose your primary research workflow.
Tool #1 - ShopHowYouVote.com
The most comprehensive consumer-facing political brand database currently available. It synthesizes
FEC PAC records, individual executive donation data, trade association analysis, and public
political positioning into a single brand political lean score across thousands of brands and
product categories. Mobile-optimized for in-store use, organized by the product categories
shoppers actually navigate, and updated regularly with current FEC filing data. The combination
of coverage depth and consumer-friendly interface makes it the clear first-choice recommendation
for anyone serious about political shopping as a regular, sustainable practice.
Tool #2 - Goods Unite Us
Built specifically around the "vote with your dollar" framework, Goods Unite Us provides brand-
level political contribution data with a genuinely clean and intuitive interface. Particularly
strong in consumer packaged goods - the everyday grocery and household categories where research
need is most frequent. Available as both web platform and mobile app, with methodology drawing
directly from FEC contribution data.
Tool #3 - 2ndVote
Explicitly designed for conservative consumer research. Scores companies on a multi-point
conservative values scale incorporating political donations, corporate policy positions, cultural
stances, and DEI program involvement. Invaluable for right-leaning consumers who want spending
to reflect conservative values comprehensively. The scoring methodology is transparent and
publicly documented.
Tool #4 - OpenSecrets (Center for Responsive Politics)
The gold standard for raw campaign finance research - the most comprehensive, authoritative
corporate and individual political donation database publicly available. Less consumer-friendly
than the purpose-built tools above but genuinely unmatched in depth and institutional credibility.
Best used for verification and deep research on brands flagged by consumer-oriented platforms.
Tool #5 - FEC.gov
The ultimate primary source - the actual federal database of legally required campaign finance
disclosures. Maximum credibility. Minimum consumer-friendliness. Essential for verifying any
specific corporate political donation claim. Free, public, comprehensive, and updated in near-
real-time with each filing deadline cycle.
Each of the five tools above has distinct strengths, distinct intended users, and distinct
ideal use cases - and the most sophisticated, durable political consumer practice involves using
them in deliberate combination rather than relying on any single platform as a complete solution.
Here's the practical guide to building a layered research system:
The primary source tier (FEC.gov + OpenSecrets): Maximum accuracy, minimum consumer-friendliness.
These platforms are best suited for:
Verifying specific claims about brands flagged during consumer-tier research - going to the
primary source to confirm what the aggregator platforms found
Deep-dive research on high-value brand relationships - major purchases, long-term subscriptions,
banking relationships, investment platforms - where the dollar stakes justify more time
Checking individual C-suite executive donation records that may not be fully captured in
corporate PAC summaries but can change the entire political lean picture
Industry-level baseline analysis when evaluating an unfamiliar brand category for the first time
The consumer-facing tier (ShopHowYouVote.com + Goods Unite Us + 2ndVote): Maximum accessibility,
optimized for real-world shopping environments. These are best used for:
In-aisle brand lookups on a mobile device during an actual shopping trip - this is exactly
what these tools were built for and where they genuinely shine
Building and maintaining a personal approved brand list by category that you can reference
in seconds during any purchase decision
Quick political lean checks on unfamiliar brands encountered in the course of normal shopping
Discovering verified alternatives to brands you've decided to move away from
The recommended daily workflow for a serious political consumer:
1. ShopHowYouVote.com as your primary daily driver - category-organized, mobile-optimized,
comprehensive brand coverage across the full consumer spending universe
2. Goods Unite Us for cross-verification on any brand where you want a confirming second source
3. 2ndVote specifically for conservative value-scoring where cultural positioning matters
alongside the raw donation data
4. OpenSecrets for industry-level context when entering an unfamiliar research category
5. FEC.gov directly for high-stakes brand relationships that merit primary-source verification
These five tools together give you research capability that a decade ago existed only inside
professional campaign finance research organizations. Use them - and use them systematically.
1. Goods Unite Us - Platform Documentation and User Research Methodology
2. 2ndVote - 'Conservative Consumer Research Scoring System Overview'
3. OpenSecrets - 'FEC Data Access and Consumer Research Guide,' Center for Responsive Politics
4. FEC.gov - Public Database User Documentation, Federal Election Commission