Paying for the Party

“Paying for the Party is a highly original work of top-rate scholarship that explores essential questions: Why do legislators spend so much time and effort fundraising for the party? How has the rise of fundraising demands for the party shaped American politics? Michael Kistner’s findings are critical for understanding political representation.” -- Raymond La Raja | coauthor of ""Small Donors in US Politics: Myth and Reality"" “Paying for the Party is political science at its best: earnest, rigorous, and focused on real, substantive issues. Kistner grapples with how state legislatures have transformed into fundraising machines, where climbing the political ladder increasingly requires raising cash for the party. Readers will gain a vital new understanding of why these crucial policymaking bodies are changing—and what it may mean for our political future.” -- Andrew Hall | Stanford University