Gender Affinity, Ideology, and the Contributions of Individuals to Women State Supreme Court Candidates

Is there a gender affinity effect present in the amount of contributions individuals donate to candidates for state supreme courts, and if so, is it moderated by ideology? Using data from FollowTheMoney.org and the Bonica and Woodruff common space measures of state judicial ideology, we find both a “gender affinity” effect and an effect of ideology. More specifically, we find that women donors provide greater support to women candidates, whereas women candidates are disadvantaged among male donors. Moreover, the financial support for women candidates is moderated by the candidate’s ideology, with more liberal women candidates enjoying greater levels of financial support from women contributors and less support from male donors. We suggest this pattern of contribution decisions can affect the pool of viable women candidates for state supreme courts.