Race and Representation in Campaign Finance

Abstract

Racial inequality in voter turnout is well-documented, but we know less about racial inequality in campaign contributions. Using new data on the racial identities of over 27 million donors, we find an unrepresentative contributor class. Black and Latino shares of contributions are smaller than their shares of the population, electorate, and elected offices. However, we argue that the presence of ethnoracial minority candidates mobilizes coethnic donors. Results from regression discontinuity and difference-in-difference designs suggest that the presence of ethnoracial minority candidates increases the share of minority contributions in US House elections. We find a reduction in white contributions to black Democrats, and to black and Latino Republicans, but little difference in overall fundraising competitiveness. Although we cannot definitively rule out alternative mechanisms that covary with candidate ethnorace, the results suggest that the nomination of minority candidates can increase the ethnoracial representativeness of campaign finance without costs to fundraising.

Rising Tides or Political Ripcurrents? Gentrification and Minority Representation in 166 Cities

“…In the case of DC-6, there has been a complete reversal of the district’s racial composition, with Black residents going from comprising over two-thirds of the population to just under 40%. Given gaps in political ambition between the two groups (Shah 2019) and resources (Grumbach and Sahn 2020), a shift from DC-6 being majority Black to majority White has likely yielded changes in minority candidate supply and success. In contrast, LR-2 and LR-6 continue to be majority–minority districts in a city with a Black Mayor who promises to balance economic growth and affordability.…”

Keep Winning with WinRed? Online Fundraising Platform as the Party’s Public Good

“…For example, if the marginal benefits in fundraising to candidates joining WinRed are higher for those who already raise more money, the platform may further consolidate legislative power within the hands of star fundraisers, who disproportionately control party and legislative agenda through formal appointments to leadership positions as well as informal influence-buying within legislatures Larson, 2005, 2012;Kistner, 2022). Also, if candidates from privileged socioeconomic backgrounds or those that are otherwise over-represented in Congress experience greater fundraising boosts from joining WinRed, WinRed's consolidation of online fundraising by members of the GOP may threaten to undo recent progress in descriptive representation in elections (Lawless and Fox, 2005;Fox and Lawless, 2005;Carnes, 2013;Grose, 2011) and undermine the increasing diversity in donor pools (Alvarez et al, 2020;Grumbach and Sahn, 2020;Grumbach et al, 2022). It also affects how much leverage and credibility party machines will have over outside PACs, who are increasingly funding amateur candidates and boosting their electoral success (Porter and Treul, 2020).…”

Do house prices affect campaign contributions?

“…Individuals contributing money to electoral campaigns—since they are not broadly representative of the American population—have been called a contributor class. Individuals who contribute differ from the general public not only with respect to income (Ansolabehere et al, 2003; Bonica et al, 2013; Brady et al, 1995; Malbin, 2013), but also age (Schlozman et al, 2012), gender (Barber et al, 2016; Thomsen & Swers, 2017), race (Grumbach & Sahn, 2020), and the intersectionality of race and gender (Grumbach et al, 2022). In a resource model of contributions, an increase in house prices for homeowners would increase contributions by increasing home equity, while increasing home prices for renters would result in either no change or a decrease in campaign contributions through more expensive housing.…”