How much is majority status in the U.S. Congress worth?
By: COX, Gary W
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Contributor(s): MAGAR, Eric.
Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, June 1999American Political Science Review 93, 2, p. 299-310Abstract: We assess the value of majority status in the U.S. House and Senate by looking at how political action committees (PACs) reallocate their contributions when the identity of the majority party changes, as it did in both chambers after the Republican triumph in the 1994 midterm elections. Our results show clearly that corporate and trade PACs give substantially more on average to members of the majority party, other factors (such as member ideology, party affiliation, and committee assignments) held constant. In addition to contributing to the literature on PAC strategy, our results also illuminate long-standing debates over congressional organization.
We assess the value of majority status in the U.S. House and Senate by looking at how political action committees (PACs) reallocate their contributions when the identity of the majority party changes, as it did in both chambers after the Republican triumph in the 1994 midterm elections. Our results show clearly that corporate and trade PACs give substantially more on average to members of the majority party, other factors (such as member ideology, party affiliation, and committee assignments) held constant. In addition to contributing to the literature on PAC strategy, our results also illuminate long-standing debates over congressional organization.
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