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<p>Political science literature suggests companies align with the Republican Party because of their shared interest in tax and regulations. However, attacks on companies by Republican elected officials and changes in party affiliation among key demographics suggest companies might move away from the Republicans and toward the Democrats. I use interviews with corporate government affairs staff and a novel dataset of corporate PAC contributions from the 2010 through 2022 election cycles to understand whether companies are realigning. Using companies’ Party Proximity Index, I find that contributions shift as Congress changes hands from Republicans to Democrats. Companies slightly favor Republicans during times of Republican control and split contributions equally between Democrats and Republicans when Democrats control Congress. While all companies studied follow similar patterns, shareholder-owned companies were more likely to move away from the Republican Party after January 6 compared to private companies, and very large companies were more likely to display a long-term move away from the Republican Party during the period studied compared to smaller companies. Findings illustrate that while companies maintain access-oriented political contribution strategies that emphasize contributions to lawmakers who can influence public policy priorities, some companies may be more sensitive to changes in the national political environment than others.</p>

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Realignment or pragmatic shifting? Corporate partisanship in response to changes in party control of congress

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年7月9日

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  • Amy D. Meli

摘要

Political science literature suggests companies align with the Republican Party because of their shared interest in tax and regulations. However, attacks on companies by Republican elected officials and changes in party affiliation among key demographics suggest companies might move away from the Republicans and toward the Democrats. I use interviews with corporate government affairs staff and a novel dataset of corporate PAC contributions from the 2010 through 2022 election cycles to understand whether companies are realigning. Using companies’ Party Proximity Index, I find that contributions shift as Congress changes hands from Republicans to Democrats. Companies slightly favor Republicans during times of Republican control and split contributions equally between Democrats and Republicans when Democrats control Congress. While all companies studied follow similar patterns, shareholder-owned companies were more likely to move away from the Republican Party after January 6 compared to private companies, and very large companies were more likely to display a long-term move away from the Republican Party during the period studied compared to smaller companies. Findings illustrate that while companies maintain access-oriented political contribution strategies that emphasize contributions to lawmakers who can influence public policy priorities, some companies may be more sensitive to changes in the national political environment than others.