Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T17:11:33.615Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Do Campaign Finance Reforms Insulate Incumbents from Competition? New Evidence from State Legislative Elections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2020

Jordan Butcher Open the ORCID record for Jordan Butcher [Opens in a new window]  and
Jeffrey Milyo Open the ORCID record for Jeffrey Milyo [Opens in a new window]
Jordan Butcher
Affiliation:
University of Missouri
Jeffrey Milyo
Affiliation:
University of Missouri
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Variations in state campaign finance regulations across states and over time provide an opportunity to test the effects of reforms on the electoral success of incumbent state legislators. We use the most recent state legislative election returns dataset to test whether state campaign finance reforms help or hinder incumbents. Our analysis of nearly 66,000 contests in 33 years reveals that campaign contribution limits and partial public financing have little impact on incumbent reelection prospects. However, full public financing and prohibitions on corporate independent expenditures significantly increase the probability of incumbent reelection.

Type
Symposium: State Legislative Elections of 2018
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 53 , Issue 3 , July 2020 , pp. 460 - 464
Copyright
© American Political Science Association 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Flavin, Patrick. 2015. “Campaign Finance Laws, Policy Outcomes, and Political Equality in the American States.” Political Research Quarterly 68 (1): 77–88.10.1177/1065912914554041CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gross, Donald A., Goidel, Robert K., and Shields, Todd G.. 2002. “State Campaign Finance Regulations and Electoral Competition.” American Politics Research 30 (2): 143–65.Google Scholar
Klarner, Carl. 2019. “State Legislative Election Returns.” Available at klarnerpolitics.org.Google Scholar
Klumpp, Tilman, Mialon, Hugo M., and Williams, Michael A.. 2016. “The Business of American Democracy: Citizens United, Independent Spending, and Elections.” Journal of Law and Economics 59 (1): 1–43.Google Scholar
Raja, La, Raymond, J., and Schaffner, Brian F.. 2014. “The Effects of Campaign Finance Spending Bans on Electoral Outcomes: Evidence from the States about the Potential Impact of Citizens United v. FEC.” Electoral Studies 33:102–14.10.1016/j.electstud.2013.08.002Google Scholar
Lioz, Adam, and Wright, Brenda. 2006. “Campaign Contribution Limits: No Harm to Challengers.” Washington, DC: US Public Interest Research Group.Google Scholar
Milyo, Jeffrey. 2013. “Campaign Spending and Electoral Competition: Toward More Policy Relevant Research.” The Forum 11 (3): 437–54.Google Scholar
Primo, David M., Jacobsmeier, Matthew L., and Milyo, Jeffrey. 2007. “Estimating the Impact of State Policies and Institutions with Mixed-Level Data.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 7 (4): 446–59.Google Scholar
Primo, David M., and Milyo, Jeffrey. 2006. “Campaign Finance Laws and Political Efficacy: Evidence from the States.” Election Law Journal 5 (1): 23–39.10.1089/elj.2006.5.23CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Primo, David M., and Milyo, Jeffrey. 2020. Campaign Finance and American Democracy: What the Public Really Thinks and Why It Matters. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Primo, David M., Milyo, Jeffrey, and Groseclose, Tim. 2006. “State Campaign Finance Reforms, Competitiveness and Party Advantage in Gubernatorial Elections.” In The Marketplace of Democracy, ed. McDonald, Michael P. and John Samples, 268–85. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
Stratmann, Thomas. 2010. “Do Low Contribution Limits Insulate Incumbents from Competition?” Election Law Journal 9 (2): 125–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stratmann, Thomas, and Aparicio-Castillo, Francisco J.. 2006. “Competition Policy for Elections: Do Campaign Contribution Limits Matter?” Public Choice 127:177–206.Google Scholar
Torres-Spelliscy, Ciara, Williams, Kahlil, and Stratmann, Thomas. 2009. “Electoral Competition and Low Contribution Limits.” New York University School of Law: Brennan Center for Justice.Google Scholar