Who Contributes?

EMILY's List, a donor network supporting female pro-choice Democratic candidates, and WISH List, a donor network supporting female pro-choice Republican candidates, have mastered political fundraising to help increase the number of women in elective office. We surveyed contributors of $200 or more to each organization, drawing on the Federal Election Commission database. While previous studies of political contributors have found that men contribute disproportionately, we found that contributors to these organizations are overwhelmingly female, albeit drawing from a relatively affluent and activist stratum of women. Examining contributors' partisan and ideological proclivities as well as their policy preferences and priorities, we found EMILY's List contributors support women's equality and reproductive rights from a liberal feminist perspective, while WISH List contributors approach these issues from a more laissez-faire conservative perspective.