Unequal Pathways to Power: How Caucus Fundraising Systems Shape Representation

• In Event: Parties, Institutions, and Polarization in American State Politics

Abstract

Do party-driven fundraising demands distort representation in American legislatures? An emerging literature on caucus fundraising demonstrates that legislative organization and party hierarchy are increasingly tied to how much money legislators can raise on behalf of their parties. The effect of these fundraising demands on who decides to run for office and who advances upon winning are less understood, however. Using a newly-released dataset on the occupational and identity backgrounds of state legislators, this paper analyzes whether documented class, gender, and racial biases in campaign finance lead to fewer working class, women, and black agenda-setters in state legislatures with high fundraising demands. These findings illustrate how differences in the structure of campaign finance affect how representative political institutions are and determine who controls power within a legislature.

Author

• Michael Kistner, University of Houston