Party Campaign Contributions Come with a Support Network

Abstract

ObjectivesContributions to candidates from the parties’ congressional campaign committees are thought to have a “multiplier effect” in terms of generating contributions from political action committees.MethodUsing structural equation modeling and timed direct contribution data from the 1992 to 2012 general election cycles, I uncover a complex system of relationships within each party network.ResultsAfter controlling for the competitiveness of the race, I find party contributions to challengers and open‐seat contestants early in the election cycle positively and significantly predict political action committee contributions to those candidates in the period after Labor Day, both in the era preceding the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act and the era after reform; however, the strength of the relationship declines in the postreform era and differences between the party networks also arise.ConclusionsI attribute these developments to changes in campaign finance law that created new hurdles for parties and increased the influence of interest groups.