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The Role of Corporations in the 1980 U.S. Congressional Elections *
Author(s) -
Ashford Kathryn L.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
sociological inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.446
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1475-682X
pISSN - 0038-0245
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-682x.1986.tb01170.x
Subject(s) - campaign finance , voting , legislature , relevance (law) , public administration , political science , commission , state (computer science) , federal election , accounting , public relations , economics , law , politics , algorithm , computer science
The issues of whether and how corporate campaign donations affect the operation of American elections have recently become the focus of public and scholarly debate. Using Federal Election Commission campaign finance data, this analysis identifies a link betwren contributions from business PACs and candidate success in the 1980 U.S. congressional elections. Findings also confirm an association between corporate support and legislative voting for candidates re‐elected in 1980. Candidates heavily supported by business PACs during the campaign did better at the polls and were more likely to vote conservatively if elected than those not so strongly endorsed by economic interests. Results are discussed in terms of various theories of the state as well as their relevance to potential election finance reforms.