Reading path
Money and the map
8 chapters in reading order. A path is a way through the book that follows one question; every chapter also stands alone.
- 1Who donates
Chapter 14.1 in Part XIV, The money map
What share of Americans give to campaigns, and how concentrated are the dollars?
PlannedIndividualsanesdime
- 2The geography of donations
Chapter 14.2 in Part XIV, The money map
Where do campaign dollars come from, and do county donor pools show the same education and income gradients as county votes?
PlannedPlacesdimecounty-demographicscounty-returns
- 3Occupation and donations
Chapter 14.3 in Part XIV, The money map
How does donors' ideology vary by occupation?
PlannedIndividualsdime
- 4The ideology of the donor pool
Chapter 14.4 in Part XIV, The money map
Among reliable donors, the share near the middle of the CFscore left-right scale fell from 11.8% in 1980 to 1.2% in 2024, and donors who joined the pool account for most of the fall.
DraftIndividualsdime
- 5Candidate extremity and vote share
Chapter 14.5 in Part XIV, The money map
Do more extreme House candidates still lose vote share, and has that changed?
PlannedOfficeholdersdime
- 6Stated and funded ideology
Chapter 14.6 in Part XIV, The money map
How closely does a county's self-reported ideology match the ideology of its donors?
PlannedPlacescesdime
- 7Counties where donors and voters diverge
Chapter 14.7 in Part XIV, The money map
Across counties, donors lean left where the Democratic vote is higher (correlation −0.85, weighted by votes), and 74 of the 98 Democratic-voting counties with right-leaning donors are at least 30% Black.
DraftPlacesdimecounty-returnscounty-demographics
- 8Partisans in the other party's territory
Chapter 15.4 in Part XV, Place and opinion
Where do Democrats and Republicans live in counties their party lost, and do these voters and donors differ from aligned partisans?
PlannedIndividualscescounty-returnsdime