Media and Momentum: Strategic Contributing in a Big-City Mayoral Election

To be a competitive candidate for mayor in the nation’s largest cities requires one to raise substantial sums of money. In this research, the authors explore the dynamics of campaign contributions using data from the 2001 mayoral election in Los Angeles. Their primary theoretical interest is in whether contributions reflect shifts in candidates’momentum, which they measure via a content analysis of campaign press coverage. Findings indicate that contributions are a function of momentum, but the effects are not the same for all candidates. In a concluding section, the authors explain why this might be the case.