Campaign Finance in Local Elections: Buying the Grassroots

Even in local elections, money matters—but just how much? Drawing on multifaceted data from more than 700 races featuring 2,800 candidates, Brian Adams comprehensively investigates the role of money and the effects of campaign finance reforms at the local level. Adams covers mayoral and city council races across several election cycles, offering analysis of cities representing a range of forms of government, demographic profiles, and approaches to the regulation of campaign finance. Throughout, he evaluates claims about the costs and benefits of changes to the financing rules and also relates his findings to broader concerns about citizen participation in self-governance at the local level.