Pink Money, Blue Money: The Impact of State Political Context on the Relationship Between Gender and Campaign Finance Laura Merrifield Albright (
[email protected]) ■ University of Indianapolis ABSTRACT In the era of modern campaigning, with the expenses of advertising and polling, among others, ample funds are necessary but not universally accessible to all candidates. This study addresses the relationship between candidate gender and campaign fundraising, and the possible mediating impact of three dimensions of the state political context – legislative professionalism, Republican party strength, and regional culture (South vs. Nonsouth). Ultimately, the findings suggest that after controlling for other candidate characteristics, as well as district and state contexts, no statistically significant relationship between candidate gender and fundraising exists. In addition, there appears to be little variation in the effect of gender across the three dimensions of state political context. INTRODUCTION As we continue in the 21st century, women on the international stage have earned increasingly powerful roles in government. No longer relegated to solely local or less important political offices, women are now regularly elected to prominent positions, including important legislative, executive, judicial, and administrative offices. According to the Pew Research Center, 63 nations have elected a woman as to the chief executive position, including Germany (Angela Merkle) and Great Britain (Margaret Thatcher) (DeSilver, 2015). The value of the female experience and the need for diverse perspectives seems to finally be achieving equal recognition after a historical legacy of sex-based exclusion and oppression. Yet in the United States, arguably one of the greatest modern democracies, women still hold only a fraction of the important political offices that guide the policy and politics of our country and states.