The Money Signal: How Fundraising Matters in American Politics

In this intriguing study of how fundraising impacts outcomes in American electoral campaigns, political scientist Thomsen (Opting Out of Congress) puts a twist on the age-old adage that money talks. Instead of the tack taken by other researchers when studying money in politics—such as examining how donor contributions affect voters’ decisions through advertising or elected officials’ policy choices—Thomsen looks at how candidates’ early fundraising, and more importantly the reports that are disseminated about their early fundraising, affect their electoral chances. Drawing on 40 years of fundraising data from more than 35,000 congressional campaigns, thousands of news articles, and interviews with former candidates, she shows that the degree to which candidates appear to be successful at raising contributions early on becomes a barometer of their viability. Not only do donors favor those who already have a “track record of raising money,” but more crucially, “journalists cite dollars in their coverage of campaigns.” The “feedback loop” forms almost from the beginning, and gives “elites” (“older, wealthier, whiter, better educated, and more ideologically extreme than nondonors”) an easy pathway for shaping a race’s outcome. Well researched and eye-opening, this makes a powerful case for not only campaign finance reform but changes to how races are reported on in the media. (July)