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<p>What are the main obstacles to increasing the number of Americans running for higher office? We compare the importance of two deterrents: the relatively low salaries paid to elected officials and the burden of fundraising to run campaigns. To do this, we study a group of especially likely future candidates—state and local political leaders. Experimentally, we find that while higher legislator pay does raise potential candidates’ interest in running, they are about twice as sensitive to fundraising burdens as they are to salary increases. Descriptive results reinforce the importance of fundraising as a gatekeeping factor: those who had to raise money in their last campaign and thus have experience fundraising are 23 percentage points more likely to express openness to running for higher office. These results suggest that reforms reducing fundraising requirements could increase the supply of candidates pursuing higher office.</p>

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Stepping Up the Political Ladder: How the Burden of Fundraising Limits Candidate Entry

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年11月27日

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  • William Marble,
  • Nathan Lee,
  • Curtis Bram

摘要

What are the main obstacles to increasing the number of Americans running for higher office? We compare the importance of two deterrents: the relatively low salaries paid to elected officials and the burden of fundraising to run campaigns. To do this, we study a group of especially likely future candidates—state and local political leaders. Experimentally, we find that while higher legislator pay does raise potential candidates’ interest in running, they are about twice as sensitive to fundraising burdens as they are to salary increases. Descriptive results reinforce the importance of fundraising as a gatekeeping factor: those who had to raise money in their last campaign and thus have experience fundraising are 23 percentage points more likely to express openness to running for higher office. These results suggest that reforms reducing fundraising requirements could increase the supply of candidates pursuing higher office.