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

这个项目调查了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好候选人不参加竞选。在全国范围内，大约三分之一的州立法机构席位没有竞争，在绝大多数其他竞选中，现任议员面临着微弱的反对。鉴于缺乏候选人资格，该项目对政治参与、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，该州为2008年选举实施了被称为“清洁选举”的公共资金。它利用一个独特的机会，通过在改革开始前后约谈潜在的候选人来观察慷慨的公共补贴的效果。在2007年2月至3月期间，JEHT基金会的前一笔赠款支持了改革前数据的收集。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。这项研究考察了一个未被探索的问题，即州立法机构的候选人是如何出现的。之前的工作重点是国会选举，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层的训练场，了解阻碍潜在领导人竞选州议会的障碍至关重要。这项研究特别关注公共竞选补贴在激励公民参选方面的作用。有几个州已经或正在考虑实施公共补贴计划。但还没有一项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，尤其是少数族裔和女性，似乎缺乏个人和职业关系，可能会吸引他们进入政坛，或者增加他们筹集资金的前景。尽管金钱不是挑战者面临的唯一障碍，但它之所以显得重要，是因为它对新兴候选人来说具有很高的价值。总体而言，这项研究揭示了政治精英的招募和参与模式、金钱的作用以及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参选，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具有重大影响。通过了解影响公民是否选择参选的因素，就有可能设计出可能扩大候选人队伍的改革方案。如果说筹集资金是一个巨大的障碍，那么清洁选举或类似的公共资金项目等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，因为在地方一级，公民发展技能、兴趣和经验，可能会为他们担任更高级别的职位做好准备。另一方面，如果廉洁选举等改革不能增加选择参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除竞选资金外，阻碍合格公民竞选公职的其他因素。

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.