The Situation:
Last year, The Center for Responsive Politics developed a critically needed, publicly available database designed to examine the intersections of race, gender, and money-in-politics at a time when more and more women, especially women of color, are running for office and becoming politically involved. We did this against the backdrop of the 2018 election cycle and the upcoming 2020 election cycle which highlights the discrepancy in demographics between elected representatives and the population as a whole.
The work done by CRP impacts the larger field of gender and race research, especially when looking at the challenges that fundraising presents for underrepresented candidates running for political office. As we contribute to this growing area of research, we are committed to maintaining a comprehensive database on the demographic composition of federal political candidates, their donors, and how they are raising money. With the generous support of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, and supporters like you, we are able to include candidate-verified information about race for almost all federal candidates.
Our work is not complete. We hope that the data we collect in 2020 will provide us with an even clearer picture of general election candidates, and where Americans donate politically along lines of gender and race. We intend to update and add to our database to reflect the latest campaign finance trends in 2020 and beyond.
How you can help:
It is imperative that we have accurate data for fully assessing the influence of money-in-politics on an ever-diversifying field of political candidates. The implications for our political system will impact future elections and policy-making for generations to come. The Center’s cutting-edge gender and race research illuminate how money-in-politics and identity interact on the national stage.
With your help, we will:
● Expand collected data with increased interviews of candidates of color and female candidates, with a special focus on women of color.
● Further partnerships with experts in the fields of political science, economics, sociology and other social sciences, as well as nonprofit organizations to create new identity-focused collaborations.
● Expand this initiative to the intersections of money-in-politics and other areas of identity, including religion, socio-economic status, sexual orientation and veteran status.
All rights reserved.