Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and the social network's political-action committee have given tens of thousands of dollars to political candidates in recent years. But the billionaire’s spending on campaigns does not tell us much about his political affiliation, a topic of much speculation.

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Zuckerberg himself has contributed to: 

• Sean Eldridge: Zuckerberg contributed the maximum $5,200 to the Republican U.S. House candidate’s campaign committee in 2013. Eldridge is husband of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, according to the National Journal.

• Orrin G. Hatch: Zuckerberg contributed the maximum $5,200 to the Republican U.S. senator from Utah’s campaign committee in 2013.
• Marco Rubio: Zuckerberg contributed the maximum $5,200 to the Republican U.S. senator from Florida’s campaign committee in 2013.
• Paul D. Ryan: Zuckerberg contributed $2,600 to the failed 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee and U.S. House member in 2014.
• Charles E. Schumer: Zuckerberg contributed the maximum $5,200 to the Democratic U.S. senator from New York’s campaign committee in 2013.

Is Mark Zuckerberg a Republican or a Democrat?

Zuckerberg is registered to vote in Santa Clara County, California, but does not identify himself as being affiliated with the Republican, Democrat or any other party, according to a 2013 report in The Wall Street Journal. 

Political Advocacy

Zuckerberg is among the tech leaders behind FWD.us, or  Forward U.S. The group is organized as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization under Internal Revenue Service code. That means it can spend money on electioneering or make contributions to super PACs without naming names of individual donors.

FWD.us spent $600,000 on lobbying for immigration reform in 2013, according to the Center For Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C.

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The group’s primary mission is get policy makers pass comprehensive immigration reform that includes, among other tenets, a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States who do not have legal status.

Zuckerberg and many tech leaders are lobbying Congress to pass measures that would allow for more temporary visas to be issued to high-skilled workers. The contributions to individual members of congress or candidates listed above are examples of his support for those who back immigration reform.

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Zuckerberg, though he personally has contributed to Republican political campaigns, has said the FWD.us is nonpartisan.

“We will work with members of Congress from both parties, the administration and state and local officials,” Zuckerberg wrote in The Washington Post. “We will use online and offline advocacy tools to build support for policy changes, and we will strongly support those willing to take the tough stands necessary to promote these policies in Washington.”

Facebook Political Action Committee

Zuckerberg is also a major contributor to Facebook’s political-action committee, called Facebook Inc. PAC. He’s given $20,000 to the PAC since 2011, according to federal records.

The Facebook PAC raised nearly $350,000 in the 2012 election cycle. It spent $277,675 supporting federal candidates; Facebook spent more on Republicans ($144,000) than it did on Democrats ($125,000). 

The committee raised more than half a million dollars in the 2014 election cycle. Its spending was divided almost evenly between parties, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Here are some of the lawmakers Facebook has contributed to:

• Amy Klobuchar (D) in 2014
• Anna Eshoo (D) in 2014
• Bob Goodlatte (R) in 2014
• Claire McCaskill (D) in 2014
• Cory Booker (D) in 2014
• Diana DeGette (D) in 2014
• Dianne Feinstein (D) in 2014
• Greg Walden (R) in 2014
• John Boehner (R) in 2014
• Justin Amash (R) in 2014
• Kevin McCarthy (R) in 2014
• Lee Terry (R) in 2014
• Mark Begich (D) in 2014
• Mark Pryor (D) in 2014
• Mark Warner (D) in 2014
• Mike Lee (R) in 2014
• Mike Pompeo (R) in 2014
• Nancy Pelosi (D) in 2014
• Richard Blumenthal (D) in 2014
• Steny H. Hoyer (D) in 2014
• Steve Scalise (R) in 2014
• Ted Cruz (R) in 2014
• Zoe Lofgren (D) in 2014
• F. James Sensenbrenner Jr (R) in 2012
• Jackie Speier (D) in 2012
• Mary Bono Mack (R) in 2012