House Republicans were less likely to object to the 2020 election results if they raked in lots of corporate cash, study finds
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- Republicans who got lots of corporate cash in 2020 were less likely to object to the election results.
- That's according to a new study from researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
- With every $500,000 received, the likelihood of objecting went down 11 points, the study found.
If you're a Republican member of Congress that rakes in thousands in corporate cash, you may be more committed to democratic norms.
That's the provocative suggestion of a recently-published research paper led by Kenneth Miller, an associate professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
In short, Miller's research found that the more corporate PAC money a House Republican received over the course of the 2020 election cycle, the less likely they were to vote to object to the certification of the 2020 election results in Arizona or Pennsylvania.
Specifically, the authors found that with every 10-percentage point increase in the amount that a House Republican's campaign had received from corporate PACs, there was a 6-point decline in the probability that they voted to object to the election results in either state.
Additionally, the likelihood that a House Republican would vote to object went down roughly 11 points with every additional $500,000 they received in corporate PAC money.
"Business interests will not likely welcome the uncertainty and turbulence that might accompany democratic decline," the paper argues, before noting that "the individuals who comprise the pool of donors to candidates tend to be more ideological and less moderate than the overall American electorate."
In the wake of January 6, several corporations halted contributions to lawmakers' who had voted to object to the election results — though many later resumed making donations.
The paper notes that given the relationship between corporate PAC contributions and likelihood to object to the election results, the "true degree of 'punishment' Republican House members have felt for objecting on January 6th appears muted."
One Republican who was likely unaffected by the pause: Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.
A chief proponent of the notion that the 2020 election was stolen who objected to the results in both Arizona and Pennsylvania, Gaetz has sworn off corporate PAC money.
The researchers argue at the conclusion of the paper that the findings "highlight a challenging dilemma of campaign finance" in the United States.
"While a greater reflection of the preferences of individual donors may have the normatively attractive outcome of reducing the influence of monied interests in policymaking," they write, "it should also be worrisome that portions of the activist bases that populate the donor class may be more concerned with winning than with the health and stability of the institutions themselves."