Police Money in Politics: An Analysis of Police Union Donation Strategies in California Local Elections

Police unions' involvement in politics is not new. Yet, limited research exists on the financial impact they may exert in contributing to candidates in elections, as well as incumbent legislators on the local level. This paper proposes that by contributing to candidates, they seek to improve vote breakdowns on police- related legislation in their favor. The theory is analyzed through the patterns of police union contributions in electability and votes on police-related bills in the period between 2016 and 2020. The effects of party affiliation, ideology and their interaction with donations are also considered. Results show that the contributions have significant influence on electability, but limited impact on individual votes. The paper supports previous research in finding that 'friends' are the main targets of contributions in first-time candidates, while 'the path of least resistance' approach is taken with those running for re-election. The evidence that contributions influence individual votes is inconclusive. The discussion of qualities of individual bills, as well as notable outliers provides additional insight into the circumstances that affect the donation strategies and their effectiveness.