Cracker Barrel Old Country Store INC PAC

Political Action Committee

Registered Jan 1990 · Treasurer: Charlie Austin · Lebanon, TN

Raised
$42,830
incl. $24,564 unitemized small gifts
Total Spent
$49,700
Operating & other
$34,200
69% of spending
Spent outside Tennessee
$14,500
29% of spending

Where the Money Goes

Of the $49,700 this committee reported spending, the largest share — $34,200 (69%) — went to operating costs and overhead.

Why this number?

Operating share of spending compares operating spending with total spent.

Show formula

Operating / overhead spending divided by everything this committee spent (each expenditure lands in exactly one bucket).

Operating spending: $34,200 ÷ Total spent: $49,700
Inputs behind Operating share of spending
Operating / overhead spending $34,200
Contributions to candidates $1,000

“Spent outside Tennessee” is money this committee sent out of state — a multi-state committee’s lump non-Tennessee line plus any individually-filed out-of-state contributions (itemized below). Separate from out-of-state donors.

Contributions to Candidates

No contributions to tracked candidates on record.

This committee’s own filings report $1,000 to candidates, while tracked candidates reported receiving $0. Of the $1,000 difference, $1,000 went to recipients not tracked here (itemized below).

Its filing also reports $1,000 in candidate contributions to recipients not tracked here — federal, local, and out-of-state races, and sitting legislators not on the 2026 ballot:

  • Jim Tracy for Congress $1,000.00

Tennessee caps what a PAC may give one candidate per election — $15,400 for statewide and House races, $30,800 for Senate races (2025–26 limits; a primary and a general count as separate elections). Registry of Election Finance limits.

Given in Other States

This committee sent $14,500 to 7 candidates and committees outside Tennessee, across 6 states. These are counted as spending outside Tennessee, not as Tennessee candidate support — Who Funds Tennessee doesn’t track out-of-state races, so they don’t link to a page here.

Contributions to candidates and committees outside Tennessee
Recipient State Total
Cantor for Congress Virginia $2,500.00
Tom Tillis Committee North Carolina $2,500.00
Capito for West Virginia West Virginia $2,500.00
McConnell Senate Committee '14 Kentucky $2,500.00
Perdue for Senate Georgia $2,500.00
Cory Gardner for Senate Colorado $1,000.00
Guthrie for Congress Kentucky $1,000.00

Operating & Other Spending

Operating spending by purpose
Purpose Total
2014 General - Fl $8,000.00
2014 General-Tn $2,500.00
2014 Primary - La $2,500.00
2014 General - Ar $2,500.00
Pac To Pac Tsfr $2,000.00
2016 Primary - Tn $1,500.00
2014 Primary-Tn $1,000.00
2014 Primary-Co $1,000.00
2014 Primary Runoff $1,000.00
2014 Primary-Mn $1,000.00

Who Funds It

Donors funding this political action committee
Donor Location Employer Total Given
Sandra Cochran Nashville, TN Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. $1,350.00
Michael Zylstra Arrington, TN Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. $1,190.00
Michael Chissler Murfreesboro, TN Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. $1,144.51
Lawrence Hyatt Franklin, TN Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. $1,100.00
Rick Palmateer Topeka, KS Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. $1,060.00
Patrick Sheehy Mt Juliet, TN Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. $960.49
Charlie Austin Overland Park, KS Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. $944.00
Mark Romanko Bessemer, AL Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. $842.20
Beverly Carmichael Brentwood, TN Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. $800.00
Robert Chanady Newnan, GA Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. $764.00

Filing History

Totals as filed with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance; see About for how this data is processed.

Campaign filing history
Filing Cash Beginning Cash Ending Source
Q4 2014 Historical $37,236.62 $34,542.05 Source ↗
Pre-General 2014 Historical $44,659.95 $37,236.62 Source ↗
Q3 2014 Historical $41,693.96 $44,659.95 Source ↗
Pre-Primary 2014 Historical $40,134.53 $41,693.96 Source ↗
Q2 2014 Historical $41,154.11 $40,134.53 Source ↗
Q1 2014 Historical $36,522.16 $41,154.11 Source ↗