Self-Rising Candidates: Racial and Gender Disparities in Self-Finance

• In Event: Gender, Intersectionality, and American Party Politics

Abstract

Early access to capital matters for whether candidates can attract attention and generate momentum on the campaign trail. In modern congressional elections, more than 40 percent of non incumbent general election winners contributed at least $10,000 in personal funds before the primary. This paper demonstrates that self-funding patterns reflect long standing racial and gender disparities in wealth. We draw on a new dataset of 20,000 nonincumbents who ran for the U.S. House from 1984 to 2020. We analyze whether and how much candidates contribute to their campaigns. We find that Black men and women, Latinos, and Latinas are less likely to self-fund, and they contribute far less than white candidates. We conclude by documenting racial and gender disparities in the assets of both lawmakers and nonincumbents. The findings raise new questions about how enduring wealth gaps by race and gender shape candidate entry and success.

Authors

• Savannah Plaskon, UC Irvine

• Danielle Thomsen, University of California, Irvine