Running for Congress is very expensive. And for those less wealthy, the mere cost of living while campaigning can be a significant barrier to candidacy, thus posing a challenge to achieving a Congress that truly represents America's diversity. The Federal Election Commission, which enforces federal campaign finance laws, is considering a move to update rules about when and how candidates can use campaign funds to support themselves. The proposed changes could make the rules much fairer, giving candidates from all backgrounds a fair chance of winning. This update will be the subject of a public hearing on March 22nd.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) made headlines for becoming the youngest female member of Congress at the age of 29. As a former bartender, she has been outspoken about the hurdles facing young working-class presidential candidates. , and people of color. Ocasio-Cortez had less than $7,000 left in her bank account after pouring her savings into her House campaign fund. Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Florida), the first Gen Z member and first Afro-Cuban member of Congress, is in debt after maxing out his credit cards during her campaign. After he won the race, he had trouble finding an apartment in Washington because of his meager savings and bad credit.
Ocasio-Cortez and Frost won their races, but the nature of running for high office means that most candidates, even highly talented ones, don't win. The financial strain and long odds of a campaign can make running unimaginable for all but the most determined candidates. And, as one Pennsylvania state legislative candidate's campaign manager pointed out, it “dominates the political establishment of both parties.” [to] recruit[] People who are already wealthy and well-connected will run in their place. ”
The burden of running for office often falls particularly heavily on candidates who are also primary caregivers, again overwhelmingly women. One of the 2018 parliamentary candidates, Lyuba Grechen Shirley, spoke about the challenges of caring for infants and young children while campaigning for her campaign. She emphasized that child care costs are “one of the first barriers to having a diverse pipeline of working mothers running for public office.” Ultimately, Gretchen Shirley applied and received approval from the FEC to use her campaign funds to pay for her child care, but the decision applies only to her.
As the Brennan Center explained in comments submitted to the Commission last month, FEC rules significantly contribute to these disparities. Rules allow campaign funds to be used to pay a candidate's salary, but the amount is capped at the amount the candidate earned in the previous year and is limited to the salary of the position the candidate is seeking. That means a bartender who made $20,000 the previous year can only pay himself that amount during a campaign, but a stockbroker who made $140,000 can pay himself seven times as much.
To make matters worse, full-time caregivers who received no income were simply out of luck. She won't be able to pay herself anything and, like Gretchen Shirley, would need special permission to even use campaign funds to care for her children or care for others. While she was out on the campaign trail, she was dependent on her family. This rule places a disproportionate burden on candidates who are women, LGBTQ+, working class, or people of color — candidates who are less likely to already have financial reserves to fall back on during a campaign.
Several of the proposals submitted to the FEC would eliminate or at least reduce the inequities in the commission's pay rules. The rulemaking also gives the commission an opportunity to clarify that candidates who need to use campaign funds for necessary expenses, such as child care, are free to do so.
The 118th Congress is the most diverse in history in terms of the number of racial and ethnic minorities, the number of women, and the number of LGBTQ+ people. Yet racial and ethnic minorities remain significantly underrepresented compared to the American public. Women make up just over a quarter of all members. And only 13 members of Congress identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Modern rules are desperately needed to reduce barriers for people of diverse backgrounds to run for office.
The FEC often fails to meet modern challenges to campaign finance systems. This rulemaking represents a welcome departure from that trend if it leads to concrete action in the form of fairer rules. After all, if we want to elect officials who fully reflect America's diversity, we need rules that help candidates of all backgrounds run and win.
