Closing the Gap: State Party Finances Four Years After BCRA


 

Publication Date: October 2007

Publisher: National Institute on Money in State Politics (U.S.)

Author(s): Denise Roth Barber

Research Area: Politics

Type: Report

Abstract:

Five years and two major election cycles after Congress passed the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), the majority of state party committees have yet to replace the money that once flowed down in copious amounts from their national counterparts. However, they are becoming more adept at finding new ways to replenish their coffers.
One hundred state party committees raised $454.6 million during the 2006 election cycle, a 20 percent decline from the $569 million they raised during the comparable pre-BCRA 2002 midterm elections.

Thirty-two committees managed to raise more in 2006 than they did in 2002, with committees in some large states such as California, Florida and Ohio experiencing the largest gains. Still, the majority, or 68 committees, raised less money, with those in three states - Missouri, New Jersey and Texas - experiencing the biggest losses from 2002 to 2006.