Motivations for Political Donations

• In Event: Poster Session: Predicting Political Participation

Abstract

Unlike in elections, where voters are often severely constrained in the candidates they can support, political donors have a broad range of candidates from which to choose. While existing research on the motivations for political donors focuses primarily on the role of the funded candidate, and secondarily on the role of the opposing candidate, I hypothesize that the difference between these candidates helps drive funding decisions for donors. To examine this, I employ a survey experiment in which I manipulate candidate profiles and measure the motivating factors for respondents. I find respondents' donation patterns are affected by candidate party, issue divergence, and integrity. In analysis of pairing-level data, I find support for the hypothesis that donation behavior is affected by the relative attributes of both candidates in elections, adding to existing arguments in the study of donations regarding their strategic nature.

Author

• William Smith, Wake Forest University