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The Impact of State Campaign Finance Laws

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Donald A. Gross  and
Robert K. Goidel
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Abstract

We compare spending in concurrent senate and gubernatorial elections to determine if campaign finance laws influence candidate campaign spending. We find that candidate-based public financing combined with spending limits influence candidate spending, but the effect is largely dependent on the level of the limits. We find that contribution limits do not influence candidate spending. If the goal of reform is to reduce candidate spending—or to affect electoral competition or voter turnout by reducing candidate spending—our results suggest that state public financing is more likely to be successful than contributions limits.

Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , Summer 2001 , pp. 180 - 195
Copyright
Copyright © 2001 The American Political Science Association

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