Paying for the Party: How Fundraising Demands Lead to Less Productive and Less Representative Legislatures (Chicago Studies in American Politics) - Hardcover

Kistner, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 022685020X ISBN 13: 9780226850207

Verlag: University of Chicago Press, 2026

Inhaltsangabe

A revealing, data-rich exploration of how American legislators transformed from active policymakers into party fundraisers.

Lawmakers in Congress and state legislatures across the United States spend enormous amounts of time and effort fundraising, not just for their own seats but for the party. Whether dialing for dollars or hosting high-priced fundraising events, the pursuit of campaign funds is now a massive part of the American legislator's job description. What explains this transformation, and what are the consequences for public policy?

In Paying for the Party, Michael Kistner uses new theory and new data to answer these questions. He shows that state legislative party organizations--Democratic and Republican caucuses in capitols across the country--are responsible for turning their members into single-minded seekers of money. Parties reward legislators who contribute the most with powerful leadership and committee positions. Consequently, the members who now hold these agenda-setting positions are increasingly neither the most productive nor knowledgeable lawmakers, but rather those who can raise the most money. And when legislators are asked to raise more money, they skip committee hearings for fundraising events, enacting fewer substantive policies as a result. Paying for the Party shows that parties in contemporary American legislatures have hollowed out the policymaking capacity of their institutions and empowered a decidedly non-representative set of legislators.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Michael R. Kistner is assistant professor of political science at the University of Houston. His research has appeared in The Journal of Politics, The Quarterly Journal of Political Science, and The Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: University of Chicago Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2026
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 022685020X
• ISBN 13: 9780226850207
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 208
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: The University of Chicago Press; https://press.uchicago.edu/index.html; ; 5801 S. Ellis Avenue; Chicago; IL; 60637; USA
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar