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What Price Justice(s)? Understanding Campaign Spending in State Supreme Court Elections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Chris W. Bonneau
Chris W. Bonneau*
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
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Abstract

Among the least-researched American elections are those for seats on the states' supreme courts, arguably some of the most important political positions in the states. We know not only that campaign spending in these races has increased sharply in the past 20 years but also that there is great variation in spending among them. What factors cause campaign spending to vary among races for the states' highest courts? And what can an understanding of campaign spending in these races tell us about campaign spending for other offices? I use data from 281 state supreme court races in 21 states from 1990 to 2000 to answer these questions. I find that state supreme court campaign spending is driven by the characteristics of the race, institutional arrangements, and the electoral and state supreme court context.

Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , Summer 2005 , pp. 107 - 125
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

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