Seeds for Success: Early Money in Congressional Elections

Biersack, Robert; Herrnson, Paul S.; Wilcox, Clyde

doi:10.2307/439854

Cited by 46 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Wilcox finds self-financed candidates who invested more "seed money" early in their campaigns have a slightly greater chance of electoral success (276). In a later study Wilcox, in collaboration with Biersack and Herrnson, qualifies this finding with evidence suggesting early money improves electoral prospects more, if the funds come from sources other than the candidate (Biersack, Herrnson, and Wilcox 1993).…”

supporting

confidence: 67%

Are Self-Financed House Members Free Agents?

Baker

2008

Congress & the Presidency

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supporting

confidence: 67%

Are Self-Financed House Members Free Agents?

Baker

2008

Congress & the Presidency

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“…The system is such that before filing for office, any potential candidate must ask the question: "Can I raise that amount of money?" (Biersack et al, 1993). The answer will be 'yes' only if there is a reasonable likelihood of electoral success and if contributors have confidence that the candidates will behave in a predictable and acceptable manner once in office.…”

Section: Political Careers In the Usamentioning

confidence: 98%

Multi-level Political Careers in the USA: The Cases of African Americans and Women

Copeland

Opheim

2011

Regional & Federal Studies

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This article explores what forces shape the careers of women and African American legislators, focusing on two key stages in the process: the election to state legislatures and the election to the US House of Representatives. We further consider the impact of that process on the maintenance of the political class in the US. Our findings suggest that African American members get elected when there are enough African American voters to elect them. State houses provide a nice starting point because the districts tend to be small allowing for a number of majority minority districts. But, at each successive step, i.e., the state senate and the US House, other factors enter the process. As districts get larger and the stakes get higher, it seems that success also becomes dependent on the number of African American politicians primed to move up by having experience serving in the preceding body. The pattern for women is less predictable with cultural variables and opportunity structure playing a role. The supply of candidates is the one variable common to women and African Americans. We conclude that the process is in many ways similar to that for white males and facilitates the stability of the political class.

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“…Challengers, on the other hand, are often inexperienced, unknown to the public, and face considerable fundraising obstacles, including the high start-up costs associated with establishing a campaign organization and the need to demonstrate their competitiveness and credibility to would-be contributors (Biersack, Herrnson, & Wilcox, 1993;Herrnson, 2012;Krasno, Green, & Cowden, 1994). The reliance of challengers on both party expertise and monetary assistance is the major reason why independent expenditures likely do not have a significant impact on the candidate's predicated vote margin despite the fact that the amounts of these expenditures exceed direct contributions and coordinated expenditures by twelvefold during the time period of this study.…”

Section: Party Contributions Are Worth More Than Cash-valuementioning

confidence: 99%

Does party support help candidates win?

Baker

2015

The Social Science Journal

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a b s t r a c tThe parties' congressional campaign committees have made it their business to strategically provide contributions to candidate campaigns in order to help their candidates win. However, the effectiveness of these contributions in terms of increasing the competitiveness of party-sponsored candidates remains untested. Using contribution data from the U.S. Federal Election Commission in a series of mixed effects models as well as a matching analysis, the receipt of direct party contributions and coordinated support is shown to significantly improve the competitive position of challengers but not open seat candidates in races for the House. Further, independent expenditures by the parties do not significantly increase candidates' competitiveness. The implications of these results for future party strategies are explored.

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Seeds for Success: Early Money in Congressional Elections

Cited by 46 publications

References 10 publications

Are Self-Financed House Members Free Agents?

Are Self-Financed House Members Free Agents?

Multi-level Political Careers in the USA: The Cases of African Americans and Women

Does party support help candidates win?

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