The California State Assembly: Where the People Don’t Matter - On the Campaign Financing of Assembly Candidates and the Puzzling Lack of Public Outcry

Abstract

This paper explores why electoral competitiveness is so low in California State Assembly races by examining the nature of campaign contributions, and the public’s engagement with the Assembly. Once the engaged electorate elects their candidate of choice, that candidate is then freed from the burden of voter-accountability and does not rely as heavily on the engaged electorate’s support for reelection. The intent of this paper is to show that the unremarkable electorate composed of everyday citizens has a shrinking impact on successive campaign races, yet that same unremarkable electorate is ambivalent to the dubious nature of this predicament.

Keywords: California State Assembly, Campaign Finance