The Moralized Market of Political Campaign Contributions: The Election and Recall of a “Progressive” Prosecutor

• In Event: 20861 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 11: Political Polarization and Radicalization

Abstract

This study examines the political economy of campaign contributions to prosecutor races. Prosecutors are locally-elected officials with significant discretion at the front-end of the criminal legal system, including over charges, bail recommendations, and plea deals. Over the last decade, a growing number of “progressive” prosecutors were elected on campaign promises to combat the racialized harms of mass incarceration. Simultaneously, countermovements against progressive prosecutors grew. While there is growing research on progressive prosecutors, the mechanisms underlying the movements for and against them – including campaign financing – remain under-examined. Therefore, I use archival analysis to examine campaign contributions and rhetoric for and against former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. This includes 13,000 political donations totaling $14 million related to Boudin’s 2019 election and 2022 recall. Additionally, I analyze campaign and media archives related to Boudin’s tenure. I analyze this data according to scholarship on moralized markets, which posits that economic exchanges shape and are shaped by social values and relations. I find that economic actors use campaign financing to compete over the meaning of shared values that appeal to constituents – specifically “safety” in the case of Boudin’s election and recall. The majority of funding in support of Boudin’s recall or opposition candidates came from economic elites in tech, real estate, and finance residing primarily outside San Francisco. These actors’ definition of safety appears to be largely based on protection of private property and businesses. It contrasts with that of Boudin’s supporters, who appear to be primarily left-leaning advocacy organizations and communities directly impacted by the criminal legal system who see mass incarceration in itself as a threat to safety. My mixed-methods data enables me to further examine the socially constructed and contested nature of “safety,” particularly how economic exchanges shape its meaning in public consciousness and public policy.

Author

• Allison Goldberg, Hofstra University