Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

There is a growing trend, particularlly among Democratic candidates, to refuse campaign donations from corporate political action committees (PACs). Indeed, 52 incoming members of the 116th Congress, including 35 non-incumbents, pledged to refuse donations from corporate PACs, and this pattern has continued into the 2020 races. Despite the growing trend, researchers have yet to consider the ramifications of such pledges. Do candidates who take the pledge stick to it, or is it merely a symbolic gesture? Does such a pledge increase the likelihood of receiving donations from alternative, and perhaps unwanted, sources? In this study, I examine the effects of pledges to refuse PAC donations on campaign contributions. This study is the first to test the implicit causal claim that voters want candidates who are beholden to the people and not “bought-out” by special interests and corporate lobbyists. The growing trend of candidates refusing to accept campaign contributions from PACs assumes this claim to be true and that by publicizing their opposition to PACs, they will attract more political support and small-dollar donations from individuals.