MEDIA ADVISORY
Feb. 3, 2005

CONTACT: Arthur Sanders, (515) 271-3172, arthur.sanders@drake.edu
Lisa Lacher, Drake University, (515) 271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu
Adam Segal, Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications, (202) 265-3000 or (202) 422-4673

DRAKE PROF'S STUDY TO BE RELEASED AT NATIONAL PRESS CLUB MONDAY

Arthur Sanders, professor of political science at Drake University, is participating in a national election study that will culminate Monday, Feb. 7, in an event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

For the study, Sanders monitored the Iowa Presidential race, a spirited contest in which new federal election laws were put to the test. His work is part of a national effort by the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy to study the impact of the recently enacted Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also known as McCain-Feingold. In upholding the new law a year ago, the Supreme Court cited prior research by the Center. The study to be released Monday is expected to be a key measure of the impact of McCain-Feingold on campaign spending and messages.

Despite widespread claims that campaign finance reform would result in the death of political parties and their ability to fund a national grassroots and media campaign, the opposite was the case in 2004, according to a major new report by the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University. The report will be released at a press conference and series of panel discussions from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Eastern time) at the National Press Club in the Holeman Lounge/First Amendment Room. The event is open to media and coverage is invited. Professor Sanders will participate in a panel discussion from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. on the battleground states in the presidential race.

At the event, CSED will release its new monograph "Dancing without Partners: How candidates, parties, and interest groups interact in the new campaign finance environment," the complete summary of the CSED 2004 research project. CSED also will review many of the television and radio ads, automated phone calls and hundreds of direct mail pieces that proliferated in the 2004 election. David Magleby, Quin Monson, and Kelly Patterson, editors of the report, will be joined by four groups of panelists and academics who will discuss the findings of the report and efforts by parties, candidates, and interest groups in 2004 (and with an eye toward 2006).

Their research shows that parties targeted a hard money bonanza into ground war activities and independent expenditures. The DNC raised and spent more than the RNC for the first time in decades and saw a dramatic surge in individual contributions in the last six months of the cycle. This spending advantage was counteracted by the efficiency and effectiveness of the ground war waged by the RNC, particularly with the advances the RNC made in "microtargeting." In another major development this cycle, 527 organizations in both presidential and some congressional races conducted unprecedented voter registration, GOTV activities, and broadcast communication.

Panelists will include Steve Rosenthal, CEO of America Coming Together (ACT); Harold Ickes, president, The Media Fund; Sara Taylor, deputy to the chief strategist, Bush/Cheney '04, and Chris LaCivita, senior adviser, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Interest group officials will include Karen White, political director of EMILY's List; Chuck Cunningham, federal affairs director of the National Rifle Association (NRA); Bill Miller, vice president public affairs and national political director of The U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and Mark Longabaugh, formerly political affairs senior vice president of the League of Conservation Voters. Panel discussions will be held with many of the nation's leading academic researchers who analyzed Senate and House elections across the country.
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WHAT: Panels of leading academics and '04 players and release of new report: Dancing without Partners: How candidates, parties and interest groups interact in the new campaign finance environment

WHO: Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University

WHEN: Monday, Feb. 7, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern time (lunch included, with RSVP to Adam Segal, Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications, (202) 265-3000 or (202) 422-4673

WHERE: National Press Club, Holeman Lounge/First Amendment Room

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