Maintaining a Political Party: Providing and Withdrawing Party Campaign Funds

Legislative campaign committees have come to play a significant role in some US states. They raise large sums of money and have the potential to play a dominant role in individual races. They also have the potential to shape party fortunes, depending on how well they use these funds. The question is: are they able to discipline themselves to use the resources effectively? To be effective, parties must be able to limit their spending to close races, and to use their funds to support non-incumbents who may become future party members. Parties must also be able to withdraw funds from incumbents as margins of victory shift. This analysis assesses how New York legislative campaign committees distribute their money and whether they are able to withdraw funds in subsequent elections from incumbents who do not need them. The years 1984-90 are analyzed.