Local Advantage in Campaign Financing: Friends, Neighbors, and Their Money in Texas Supreme Court Elections

In introducing the concept of "friends and neighbors" politics, Key described the phenomenon of localism and reported that local candidates win by greater margins in their own regions as a result of name recognition and common bonds developed over time. Since then, applications have been limited to explaining voting behavior with mixed results. This paper argues for extending the concept into the realm of campaign finance. In this case, "friends and neighbors" financing is applied with success to the expensive, down-ticket elections for the Texas Supreme Court.