This paper examines the influence of campaign finance laws on patterns of candidacy in
state legislative elections. Fundamental to electoral competition are the decisions by candidates
to seek elective office, however, few studies consider the influence of various legal conditions
that may serve to inhibit or enhance candidacy. Several factors on both the state and district
levels will be taken into account, however, one of the most important for this analysis is the
potential effect of campaign finance laws. Previous studies demonstrate that restrictions on
campaign contributions vary dramatically from state to state (e.g., Alexander 1991; Gross and
Goidel 2003; Jones 1984; Malbin and Gais 1998; Schultz 2002; Thompson and Moncrief 1998)
and such variation affects levels of campaign spending (Hogan 2000) and electoral competition
(e.g., Gross, et al. 2002; Stratmann 2002). But how do such conditions influence the likelihood
that candidates will decide to run? Do restrictions on funding sources have any effect on the
probability that a major party candidate or an independent challenger emerges to run against a
sitting incumbent? What role does public funding play? Do such legal mechanisms actually
level the playing field and result in greater contestation, as many reform-minded individuals
would hope? How important are such conditions relative to other legal factors such as a state’s
ballot access restrictions? Finally, how do they compare with the influence of various statewide
and district-level variables identified in past research?
Money is important to modern campaigns at almost any level and individuals considering
a run for political office will certainly think about how they will raise the necessary funding. To
the extent that campaign finance laws shape a candidate’s ability to raise money, decisions about
whether or not to enter a race may be directly affected by the state’s campaign finance laws.
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Convention