The Political Geography of Campaign Contributions in American Politics

This article examines the geographic origins of individual campaign contributions to the Republican and Democratic parties and their candidates from 1992 to 2004. Results demonstrate that contributions are affected by how potential givers are situated in space. There is a geographic pattern to giving independent of wealth, age, occupation, and other individual characteristics that predict donations. Campaign contributors are not only people with resources and incentives to participate, but also part of networks in which social influence can be brought to bear in the solicitation of contributions. The article also shows that the Republican and Democratic donor bases are much more similar geographically than their bases of electoral support.