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An Investment in Goodwill

Party Contributions and Party Unity Among U.S. House Members in the 1980s

West Virginia University

Stephen A. Borrelli

University of Alabama

Despite the growing importance of political parties as campaign service providers and as organizational forces in the U.S. House, few have explored the linkages between party campaign activities in House elections and partisan behavior within the House. In this article, we explore the possibility that financial contributions by party committees during the election cycle might motivate House members to support the party line more often after the election. Examining data on all Democrats and Republicans successfully reelected to the House during the 1980s, we find evidence that those who received larger shares of their campaign receipts from party sources showed greater-than-expected levels of party unity during the session of Congress immediately following the election.

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