22 MCCUTCHEON v. FEDERAL ELECTION COMM’N Opinion of ROBERTS, C. J. ruptible if given a dime. And if there is no risk that additional candidates will be corrupted by donations of up to $5,200, then the Government must defend the aggregate limits by demonstrating that they prevent circumvention of the base limits. The problem is that they do not serve that function in any meaningful way. In light of the various statutes and regulations currently in effect, Buckley’s fear that an individual might “contribute massive amounts of money to a particular candidate through the use of unearmarked contributions” to entities likely to support the candidate, 424 U. S., at 38, is far too speculative. And— importantly—we “have never accepted mere conjecture as adequate to carry a First Amendment burden.” Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC, 528 U. S. 377, 392 (2000). As an initial matter, there is not the same risk of quid pro quo corruption or its appearance when money flows through independent actors to a candidate, as when a donor contributes to a candidate directly. When an individual contributes to a candidate, a party committee, or a PAC, the individual must by law cede control over the funds. See 2 U. S. C. §441a(a)(8); 11 CFR §110.6. The Government admits that if the funds are subsequently rerouted to a particular candidate, such action occurs at the initial recipient’s discretion—not the donor’s. See Brief for Appellee 37. As a consequence, the chain of attribution grows longer, and any credit must be shared among the various actors along the way. For those reasons, the risk of quid pro quo corruption is generally applicable only to “the narrow category of money gifts that are directed, in some manner, to a candidate or officeholder.” McConnell, 540 U. S., at 310 (opinion of KENNEDY, J.). Buckley nonetheless focused on the possibility that “unearmarked contributions” could eventually find their way to a candidate’s coffers. 424 U. S., at 38. Even ac-