Was 1980 Special? A Comparison of 1980 and 1986 Corporate PAC Contributions

Abstract

Most recent sociological analysis of corporate Political Action Committee (PAC) behavior focuses on the 1980 election, but 1980 was highly unusual, with many characteristics of a critical or realigning election. Thus, previous findings that business was highly unified, or that ideological conservatives were more unified than pragmatic corporations, may be artifacts of special conditions in 1980. This study shows, however, that on a race-by-race basis business was even more unified in 1986 than in 1980. In 1986, as in 1980, conservative corporations were more unified, though they changed their behavior substantially between 1980 and 1986, becoming much more cautious.