Optimal Campaign Spending in Elections

We present a theory of campaign spending in elections. In our model we show that in the absence of competitive electoral pressure the timing of campaign spending will simply on the relative benefits of spending money early vs. late in the campaign. When the candidate have to compete for funds, and their ability to raise funds depends on their standing in the polls, candidates are forced to increase their spending early on in the campaign. This finding appears consistent, e.g., with a number of presidential primary races. ∗Political Institutions and Public Choice Program, Department of Political Science, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI 48824. Email: [email protected], [email protected]. Paper prepared for presentation at the 2001 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association.