RAPID: Candidate Emergence for the Connecticut Legislature After Implementation of the Clean Elections Act

本项目研究公共补贴是否鼓励不同背景的公民竞选公职，以及为什么一些潜在的优秀候选人不参加竞选。在全国范围内，大约三分之一的州议会席位无人竞争，在绝大多数其他种族中，现任者面临微弱的反对。鉴于缺乏候选人，这一项目对政治参与、竞争、代表性和问责制具有重要影响。分析的重点是康涅狄格州，该州在2008年选举中实施了名为“清洁选举”的公共融资。它利用一个独特的机会，通过在改革开始之前和之后采访潜在的候选人，观察慷慨的公共补贴的效果。JEHT基金会先前的一笔赠款支持在2007年2月至3月期间收集改革前的数据。改革后对这些受访者的调查为一项强有力的小组研究提供了数据，以观察改革对潜在候选人的态度和行为的影响。这项研究探讨了关于州立法机构候选人如何出现的未充分探讨的问题。以前的工作集中在国会选举，表明大多数候选人来自州立法机构的行列。由于州立法机构似乎是未来国家领导人的训练场，因此了解阻止潜在领导人竞选州议会的障碍至关重要。本研究特别关注公共竞选补贴在激励公民竞选中的作用。一些州已经或正在考虑公共补贴计划。但没有研究系统地评估公共资金是否会增加候选人的数量。许多候选人，特别是少数族裔和女性，似乎缺乏可能吸引他们从政或提高他们筹款前景的个人和专业联系。虽然金钱不是挑战者的唯一障碍，但由于其对新兴候选人的高价值，它显得很重要。总的来说，这项研究揭示了政治精英的招募和参与模式，金钱的作用和州选举中政治竞争的动态。这项研究对旨在刺激公民参与和政治竞争的公共政策具有影响。竞选公职是一种要求很高的政治参与形式，但美国民主的健康取决于一些公民是否愿意宣布他们的候选人资格，以确保选举选择和竞争。缺乏候选人和缺乏多样性对政治代表性和问责制产生了重大影响。通过了解影响公民是否选择竞选的因素，就有可能设计出可能扩大候选人库的改革。如果筹集资金是一个巨大的障碍，那么像清洁选举或类似的公共资助计划这样的改革有望降低合格公民竞选公职的门槛。在地方一级，减少这种障碍尤其重要，因为公民在地方一级发展技能、兴趣和经验，为担任更高级别的职务做好准备。另一方面，如果像清洁选举这样的改革不能增加选择参加竞选的公民的数量和多样性，那么就需要考虑新的政策来实现这一目标。这项研究有助于确定其他因素，除了竞选资金，阻止合格的公民竞选公职。

This project examines whether public subsidies encourage citizens of different backgrounds to run for office and why some citizens who are potentially good candidates refrain from running. Nationwide, roughly 1/3 of seats for state legislatures go uncontested, and in the vast majority of other races incumbents face weak opposition. Given the lack of candidacies, this project has important implications for political participation, competition, representation and accountability. The analysis focuses on Connecticut, which implemented public financing called "Clean Elections" for the 2008 elections. It exploits a unique opportunity to observe the effect of generous public subsidies by interviewing potential candidates before and after the onset of reform. A previous grant from the JEHT Foundation supported collection of pre-reform data during February-March of 2007. A post-reform survey of these same respondents provides data for a powerful panel study to observe the effect of reform on attitudes and behavior of potential candidates. This research examines the underexplored question about how candidates emerge for state legislative office. Previous work has focused on congressional elections, demonstrating that most candidates come from the ranks of state legislatures. Since state legislatures appear to be the training ground for future national leadership, it is critical to understand obstacles that deter potential leaders from running for the statehouse. This study focuses especially on the role of public campaign subsidies in motivating citizens to run. Several states have, or are considering, public subsidy programs. But no study has assessed systematically whether public funding might increase the pool of candidates. Many candidates, particularly minorities and women, appear to lack personal and professional connections that might draw them into politics or boost their prospects of raising money. Although money is not the only obstacle for challengers, it looms large because of its high value for emerging candidates. Overall, this research sheds light on recruitment and participation patterns among political elites, the role of money and the dynamics of political competition in state elections. The study has implications for public policy designed to stimulate civic participation and political competition. Running for office is a demanding form of political participation, but the health of American democracy depends on the willingness of some citizens to declare their candidacies to ensure electoral choice and competition. The dearth of candidates and lack of diversity have significant implications for political representation and accountability. By understanding factors that influence whether citizens choose to run, it becomes possible to design reforms that may expand the pool of candidates. If raising money looms large as an obstacle, then reforms such as Clean Elections or similar public funding programs hold promise to decrease barriers to entry for qualified citizens to run for office. Decreasing such barriers is especially important at the local level where citizens develop skills, interest and experience that might prepare them for higher levels of office. If, on the other hand, reforms such as Clean Elections do not increase the number and diversity of citizens who choose to run, then new policies need to be considered to achieve this goal. This study helps in identifying other factors, besides campaign money, that deter qualified citizens from running for office.