A STUDY OF CONGRESSIONAL VOTING

During the 1984 political campaigns, the public was deluged by requests from candidates and campaign managers for contributions to aid in their quest for political victory. Many contributions come from private citizens who support the views of the candidate. Contributions also come from special interest groups that support or show interest in only one or a small number of issues directly related to their own well‐being. For the 1976 general elections, Common Cause, a Washington‐based political reform group, reports that interest committees contributed a total of $20,447,560 to Congressional elections alone. The National Education Association spent $676,067 in support of candidates for the Presidency, Senate and House seats. The Political Action Committee of the national AFL‐CIO contributed over $1.6 million to candidates for local, state and national office. These monetary contributions do not include money, time and effort donated for distributing literature, organizing and participating in get‐out‐the‐vote drives and other types of political activity.