Who Donates in Campaigns?

The Book

Who Donates in Campaigns? The Importance of Message, Messenger, Medium, and Structure

Individual donors make resource-intensive modern campaigns possible, and the aggregate amount of money individuals give has grown substantially over time. Despite the importance of donors, relatively little is known about them. Who donates to candidates and why do they do so? How are donors different than voters or the general public? Are donors more extreme? Do they have different issue concerns? Who are the donors that Obama newly mobilized in 2008? We utilize two surveys of donors we administered in 2008 and 2012 (and interview our 2008 sample again in 2012) to compare giving patterns and opinions changes for new, lapsed, and repeat donors. Because the 2008 and 2012 major party nominees provided us with random samples of small donors, we are able to survey donors at all giving levels and assess how small donors are different than big-ticket donors. Using contribution data, we also track by day how many people gave and how much was given. These patterns are examined in light of campaign events and polling results. Throughout the book, we incorporate direct accounts of fund-raising strategy and experience based on extensive interviews with a wide range of campaign officials and other participants in the 2008 and 2012 election campaigns.

Changes in the law (e.g. increased contribution limits), which we call the structure of the campaign finance system, are part of the explanation for the growth in numbers of donors and amounts given. Changes in technology—especially the Internet—have provided candidates and donors with additional ways to interact and make contributions. More than McCain and Romney, the medium of the Internet helped Obama connect with new donors who were typically younger and female.

The book uses a significant new concept to explain who donates, the messenger. Prior studies have largely overlooked how a candidate’s personal appeal motivates people to contribute. Much like in voting behavior, we show that donors give to campaigns because they like a candidate or because they do not like the opponent. The book also shows the importance of the message of the campaign in motivating donor participation.

The first edition of the book can be ordered from Cambridge University Press or Amazon.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: The Importance of Donors in American Politics

Chapter 2: Profile of Donors in 2008 and 2012

Chapter 3: What Motivates Donors to Contribute?

Chapter 4: How the Internet, BCRA, and Super PACs Have Affected Campaigns, Donor Attitudes, and Behavior

Chapter 5: New, Repeat, Continuing, and Lapsed Donors

Chapter 6: What Distinguishes Small Donors?

Chapter 7: The Diminished Gender Gap among Democratic Donors

Chapter 8: The Timing of Donations in Presidential Campaigns

Chapter 9: Policy Implications of Changing Laws, Regulations, and of Who Donates

Chapter 10: What Explains Donor Behavior?

Get it now from Cambridge University Press or Amazon.