Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-45l2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T08:41:01.870Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Money Talks: Deterring Quality Challengers in Congressional Elections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 1995

David Epstein  and
Peter Zemsky
David Epstein
Affiliation:
Columbia University
Peter Zemsky
Affiliation:
INSEAD
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We examine the role of incumbent fundraising in deterring strong challengers. We construct a signaling model in which incumbents can use fundraising strategically to ward off quality challengers. We show, however, that only under very limited circumstances will there be an observable relationship between fundraising and challenger quality. Therefore, previous empirical tests for deterrence have systematically underestimated the effects of fundraising in decreasing electoral competition. Our analysis also suggests that by making fundraising easily observable, Federal Election Commission regulations may encourage candidates to overinvest time and resources accumulating large war chests instead of governing.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 89 , Issue 2 , June 1995 , pp. 295 - 308
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ansolebehere, Stephen. 1990. “Winning Is Easy, but It Sure Ain't Cheap.” University of California, Los Angeles. Typescript.Google Scholar
Austen-Smith, David. 1987. “Interest Groups, Campaign Contributions, and Probabilistic Voting.” Public Choice 54:123–39.10.1007/BF00123002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Austen-Smith, David. 1990. “Rational Consumers and Irrational Voters: A Review Essay on Black Hole Tariffs and Endogenous Policy Theory.” Economics and Politics 3:73–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Banks, Jeffrey, and Kiewiet, D. Roderick. 1989. “Explaining Patterns of Candidate Competition in Congressional Elections.” American Journal of Political Science 33:997–1015.10.2307/2111118CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baron, David. 1989a. “Service-related Campaign Contributions and the Electoral Equilibrium.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 104:45–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baron, David. 1989b. Service-induced Campaign Contributions, Incumbent Shirking, and Reelection Opportunities. In Models of Strategic Choice in Politics, ed. Ordeshook, P.. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Baron, David. 1992. “Electoral Competition with Informed and Uninformed Voters.” Stanford University. Typescript.Google Scholar
Baron, David, and Mo, Jongryn. 1993. “Campaign Contributions and Party-Candidate Competition in Services and Policies.” In Political Economy: Institutions, Information and Voting, ed. Schofield, N.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Bauer, Monica, and Hibbing, John R.. 1989. “Which Incumbents Lose in House Elections? A Response to Jacobson's ‘Marginals Never Vanished’.” American Journal of Political Science 33:262–71.10.2307/2111262CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Box-Steffensmeier, Janet, and Lin, Tse-min. 1992. “Estimating Lagged Effects of Incumbent Expenditures.” University of Texas, Austin. Typescript.Google Scholar
Cameron, Charles, and Enelow, James. 1990. “Asymmetric Policy Effects, Campaign Contributions, and the Spatial Theory of Elections.” Columbia University. Typescript.Google Scholar
Cho, In-koo, and Kreps, David. 1987. “Signaling Games and Stable Equilibria.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 102:179–222.10.2307/1885060CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Denzau, Arthur, and Munger, Michael. 1986. “Legislators and Interest Groups: How Unorganized Interests Get Represented.” American Political Science Review 80:89–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drew, Elizabeth. 1983. Politics and Money: The New Road to Corruption. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Farrell, Joseph. 1988. “Meaning and Credibility in Cheap-Talk Games.” In Mathematical Models in Economics, ed. Dempster, M.. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Fenno, Richard F. 1978. Home Style. Boston: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Fowler, Linda. 1993. Candidates, Congress, and the American Democracy. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fudenberg, Drew, and Tirole, Jean. 1991. Game Theory. Cambridge: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Gilligan, Thomas, and Krehbiel, Keith. 1992. “Who Specializes? Expertise in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.” Stanford University. Typescript.Google Scholar
Green, Donald Philip, and Krasno, Jonathon S.. 1988. “Salvation for the Spendthrift Incumbent: Reestimating the Effects of Campaign Spending in House Elections.” American Journal of Political Science 32:884–907.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, Donald, Robins, James, and Krasno, Jonathon. 1991. Using Polls To Estimate the Effects of Campaign Spending by U.S. House Incumbents. Washington: American Political Science Association.Google Scholar
Hall, Richard L. 1989. “Committee Decision Making in the Postreform Congress.” In Congress Reconsidered, ed. Dodd, L. C. and Oppenheimer, B. I.. Washington: Congressional Quarterly.Google Scholar
Hinckley, Barbara. 1980a. “The American Voter in Congressional Elections.” American Political Science Review 74:641–50.10.2307/1958147CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hinckley, Barbara. 1980b. “House Reelections and Senate Defeats: The Role of the Challenger.” British Journal of Political Science 10:441–60.10.1017/S0007123400002337CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hinich, Melvin, and Munger, Michael. 1989. “Political Investment, Voter Perceptions, and Candidate Strategy: An Equilibrium Spatial Analysis.” In Models of Strategic Choice in Politics, ed. Ordeshook, P.. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Jackson, Brooks. 1988. Honest Grafi: Big Money and the American Political Process. New York: Knopf.Google Scholar
Jacobson, Gary C. 1990a. The Electoral Origins of Divided Government. San Francisco: Westview.Google Scholar
Jacobson, Gary C. 1990b. “The Effects of Campaign Spending in House Elections: New Evidence for Old Arguments.” American Journal of Political Science 34:334–62.10.2307/2111450CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacobson, Gary C., and Kernell, Samuel. 1983. Strategy and Choice in Congressional Elections. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Joskow, P., and Klevorik, A.. 1979. “A Framework for Analyzing Predatory Pricing Policy.” Yale Law Journal 89:213–70.10.2307/795837CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krasno, Jonathon S., and Green, Donald Philip. 1988. “Preempting Quality Challengers in House Elections.” Journal of Politics 50:920–36.10.2307/2131385CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mann, Thomas, and Wolfinger, Raymond. 1980. “Candidates and Parties in Congressional Elections.” American Political Science Review 74:617–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morton, Rebecca, and Cameron, Charles. 1992. “Elections and the Theory of Campaign Contributions: A Survey and Critical Analysis.” Economics and Politics 4:79–108.10.1111/j.1468-0343.1992.tb00056.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saloner, Garth. 1981. “Dynamic Equilibrium Limit Pricing in an Uncertain Environment.” Stanford University. Typescript.Google Scholar
Snyder, James. 1990. “Campaign Contributions as Investments: The U.S. House of Representatives, 1980–1986.” Journal of Political Economy 98:1195–1227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sorauf, Frank. 1992. Inside Campaign finance: Myths and Realities. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar