Who are they? Click here

Greetings! This site is a project of Jennifer Steen, assistant professor of political science at Boston College. I am currently in the process of rebuilding and updating my self-financing site. I am the author of the forthcoming book Money Isn't Everything: Self-Financed Candidates in Congressional Elections (University of Michigan Press) and several articles about self-financing. (see links below). My comments have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, National Journal, Roll Call, Boston Globe, USA Today and many other news outlets.

I recently completed a chapter on the "Millionaires' Amendment" to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) which will appear in The Election After Reform: Money, Politics and the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, ed. Michael J. Malbin (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., Fall 2005).

Below are links to some of my work. I am updating the "Frequently Asked Questions about Self-Financed Candidates," which will appear here soon. I am also compiling a list of useful links to information about self-financing and self-financers.

Reporters: The best way to contact me is by e-mail. Please be sure to tell me what angle you are working and note your deadline.

Money Isn't Everything: Self-Financed Candidates in Congressional Elections

Pre-order from U. Mich. Press

Read Chapter 1 (intro) and Chapter 6 (conclusions).  These are the pre-copyedited versions.

Where it all began: my doctoral dissertation (U.C. Berkeley 2000)

"Maybe You Can Buy an Election, But Not With Your Own Money" my op-ed in the Washington Post, June 25, 2000

"The Millionaires' Amendment," chapter 10 in The Election After Reform: Money, Politics and the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, ed. Michael J. Malbin (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2005).

This chapter discusses the effect of the "Millionaires' Amendment" on the 2004 congressional elections. (I argue that the MA had a very limited impact.)

"The Millionaires' Amendment," chapter 9 in Life After Reform: When the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act Meets Politics, ed. Michael J. Malbin (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2003)

Click here to go to the publisher's page for this book

Don't feel like actually reading the chapter? Click here to read Roll Call's report on my findings (January 15, 2003).

Selected news stories

More resources - coming soon!

Self-Financers pictured above

Steve Forbes, Republican candidate for president in 1996 (self-financed $37.5 million) and 2000 (self-financed $42.3 million)	Michael Bloomberg, Republican mayor of New York City (elected 2001, self-financed $78 million, defeated Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer in general election; re-elected 2005, self-financed approx. $70 million)	Douglas Forrester, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate (2002, defeated by Frank Lautenberg after Bob Torricelli's withdrawal) and governor (2005, self-financed $35 million) of New Jersey	Jon Corzine, Democratic U.S. senator (elected 2000, $68 million, defeated U.S. Rep. Bob Franks) and governor-elect of New Jersey (2005, self-financed approx. $43 million)	Blair Hull, candidate for U.S. Senate (2004, $30 million, defeated by Barack Obama in Democratic primary)
Ross Perot, independent (1992 self-financed $63 million) and Reform (1996, self-financed $8.2 million) candidate for president	Maria Cantwell, Democratic U.S. Senator (elected 2000, defeated Sen. Slade Gorton) from Washington state	Michael Huffington, congressman (elected 1992, $5 million, defeated U.S. Rep. Bob Lagomarsino in the Republican primary) and U.S. Senate candidate (1994, defeated by Dianne Feinstein in general election)	Pete Coors, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate (2004, defeated by Democrat Ken Salazar in general election)	Mark Dayton, Democratic U.S. Senator (elected 2000, defeated Sen. Rod Grams,  not seeking re-election in 2006) from Minnesota