Contributions and Contributors in the 2004 Presidential Election Cycle

The 2004 presidential election was unique in that the main contenders-Howard Dean, John Kerry, and George W. Bush-decided to reject public financing during the primary elections. In fact, fundraising did not appear to be problematic for either major party nominee during the entire election cycle, and both major parties collected and spent unprecedented sums of money to execute campaign activities. This study will assess data available from the Federal Election Commission to examine the amounts and sources of funding for the 2004 presidential election. Using available survey data from the 2004 National Election Study, we also investigate the characteristics of contributors and analyze their motivations for giving.