State Legislators as Congressional Candidates:The Effects of Prior Experience on Legislative Recruitment and Fundraising

Abstract

Prior research on congressional recruitment establishes that “experi enced” or “quality” candidates compete more successfully for votes and money Little research, however, inquires into how type of prior experi ence affects strategic decisions on when to run or success once a race is undertaken. This research explores the impact of type of prior experi ence, focusing on state legislators who run for the U.S. House. We exam ine how experience affects decisions to run and money raised for all non incumbent general election House candidates between 1988 and 1994. We find that type of prior experience matters. In particular, state legisla tors, especially those serving in professionalized legislatures, are more risk averse in deciding when to run. They also raise more of their money from PACs, and even more as the density of their state's interest group structure and professionalism of their legislature increases.