Where did the political party money go?: A comparison between the 2006 and 2008 Oklahoma elections

Abstract

With the decline of the economy and the implementation of term limits in Oklahoma, campaign money has become increasingly more important to state legislative candidates in Oklahoma. Featuring data from every state legislative contest in the 2006 and 2008 elections, this article seeks to explore the role of money in political campaigns. While many of the traditional expectations held (winners spent more losers, Senate candidates spent more than House candidates, and candidates spent more money overall), the spending of the political parties was the most drastic change in the 2006 and 2008 elections. Both parties, but especially the Democrats, experienced a significant decline in their campaign spending. With Republicans controlling both houses of the Oklahoma legislature, this does not bode well for Oklahoma Democrats in the future if this trend does not change.