Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper is a case study on the relationship between PAC campaign contributions and congressional voting. The bill under this study is the House Roll-Call Vote 317 on the amendment proposed by Rep. Markey (MA) to remove the provision of the oil drilling in ANWR from the Bush Energy Plan in 2001. Using a logit model, it is found that neither the amount of oil PAC contribution nor its proportion of candidates’ spending significantly influenced the legislators’ votes. Party, ideology, and the district’s interests were the most significant predictors on voting.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper examines how the influence of political action committees (PACs) on roll call votes varies across different legislative contexts. Building off of the literature on congressional decision-making, I argue that PACs should have a significant influence on voting primarily on non-ideological, non-visible votes. The analysis supports the conclusion that on these types of votes PACs can be an important cue aiding member decision-making in the absence of other more frequently used voting cues (e.g. partisanship, constituency, etc.). The implications of this finding for legislative outcomes and overall PAC power are discussed.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper introduces a new approach to modeling the relationships between PACs and House members. I combine information about the entire dynamics history of contributions between PAC-candidate pairs, with cross-sectional information about the portfolio of candidates/incumbents supported by each PAC. Prior approaches focus either on single election cycles, or a small set of elections to analyze relationship between candidates and PACs. No prior work has drawn on information about the portfolio of candidates supported by a PAC to consider the dynamics of replacing a previously supported candidate with someone new._x000d__x000d_Key results include showing that most money to incumbents comes from PACs who supported the member prior to their initial election, and offering new scaling results for PACs.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Previous research has shown that
when women run for the state legislature, they are on relatively equal
ground as their male counterparts with regard to total funds raised
during their campaigns. This research suggests women’s representative
deficiency in the state legislature is not because of an inability in
fundraising, but simply because more women do not run and fewer women
are endowed with the advantages of incumbency. However, most research
in this area looks at the total and average amounts raised by men and
women candidates, without regard to the exact sources of those funds.
Additionally, while research has found voters do not discriminate
against women candidates, they do evaluate them differently than men
candidates. Women are perceived to be better able than men to deal with
issues such as healthcare, education and welfare, and research has
likewise shown that women are more likely to focus on these issues
after being elected to the legislature. Conversely, voters perceive
male candidates better able to handle issues of crime, international
conflict and economic concerns. My research considers these perceptions
and whether they influence financial contributions to candidates for
state office. My main research question is as follows: Are PACs that
are more concerned with women’s issues more likely to contribute to
women candidates? To answer this question, I systematically look at PAC
and party giving to all candidates in the state of Colorado for the
1996 state legislative races. The data consist of nearly 4,000 party
gifts and PAC contributions, which are coded by policy type, such as
health, education, unions and workers benefits, agriculture,
crime/emergency response, etc. After controlling for party and
incumbency, I will examine whether the sources of campaign funds for
female candidates differ from those of men and whether these
differences are tied to perceptions of each gender’s policy strengths.
Results of this research will lead to a better understanding of whether
women face different types of obstacles than do men when running for
the state legislature.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: How has the use of party leadership PACs in the House and Senate changed in recent years? Social network analysis (SNA) is used to derive maps of contributions between members of Congress and develop measures of the changing usage of these bodies.