Senior Discount? Gender, Age, and Small Donor Fundraising

Recent discussions surrounding candidate age and its impact on small donor fundraising have raised questions about ageism in American politics. However, existing studies of age in politics largely neglect the specific obstacles encountered by older female candidates. This paper, which examines the impact of age and gender on small contribution receipts in U.S. House of Representatives campaigns from 2006-2010, aims to address the following questions: How do age and gender interact to predict small contribution receipts? What are the implications for fundraising of older women candidates compared to their male counterparts? The findings reveal a significant negative interaction between age and gender, indicating that older female candidates experience a pronounced reduction in small contribution receipts compared to older male candidates. This suggests that age-related biases intersect with gender, posing unique challenges for older women candidates in fundraising efforts.