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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Political Science Honors Projects

2021

Candidate withdrawal

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Follow The Money? Analyzing The Impact Of Fundraising On Candidate Withdrawal In The 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary, Scotland R. Kraker Apr 2021

Follow The Money? Analyzing The Impact Of Fundraising On Candidate Withdrawal In The 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary, Scotland R. Kraker

Political Science Honors Projects

The 2020 Democratic presidential primary had the largest field in modern history. Twenty eight major candidates sought the nomination, yet after March 19th that historic field had been winnowed down to only two. This paper seeks to explain part of that winnowing process and expand on the literature explaining why candidates withdraw in presidential primaries. I trace the impact of fundraising on candidate withdrawal during the 2020 primary using an event history model, to compare cash on hand, a traditional indicator of financial success with a new indicator which takes into account a candidate's relative position in the field. My …