<p>The run-up to elections offers a critical window for interest groups to shape political agendas as parties draft their manifestos and prepare for governance. Yet, research on pre-electoral interactions between interest groups and political parties remains scarce, with most studies focusing on post-electoral or legislative stages. This paper examines how frequently and why interest groups interact with political parties during election campaigns, addressing both strategic cost–benefit and historical explanations. Building on theories of transactional exchange and ideological alignment, we argue that longstanding organizational linkages rooted in societal cleavages continue to shape interactions in the pre-electoral phase. Using novel survey data from 237 Belgian interest groups collected before the 2024 national elections, we find that overall interaction levels are higher than prior research suggests. Our findings show that historical ties remain a key determinant of pre-electoral engagement, granting groups privileged access to ideologically aligned parties. These ties amplify the effect of issue-specific positional alignment and can even lead groups to interact with parties holding opposing positions and with limited coalition potential, showing that long-term relationships can outweigh short-term strategic considerations. As such, the study demonstrates how reliance on enduring organizational linkages may limit inclusiveness, raising broader normative questions about equal access and influence in interest representation. </p>