Report: Campaigns collected $600k from dead donors Collecting donations from the deceased may sound like an old-school political scandal, but federal candidates and political parties have picked up nearly $600,000 in donations -- legally -- from the departed since 2009, according to a USA Today analysis. Thirty-two people since 2009 have contributed more than $586,000 to congressional and presidential candidates, as well as political parties, after being listed as "deceased" on Federal Election Commission filings. The Democratic National Committee was the biggest beneficiary of donations from the dead, according to USA Today, taking in more than $245,000. Federal campaign laws allow individuals to donate to candidates or parties through their estates after their death. Like the living, however, deceased donors are subject to contribution limits.