Brendan J. Doherty, "Fundraiser in Chief: Presidents and the Politics of Campaign Cash" (UP of Kansas, 2023)

Political Scientist Brendan Doherty has a new book that dives into the ways that presidents have raised money for themselves, their parties, and other elected officials over the past six decades. Doherty is an expert on campaign fundraising, especially by presidents, and Fundraiser in Chief: Presidents and the Politics of Campaign Cash (UP of Kansas, 2023) continues the research he has been doing in this area within political science. The overarching thesis of Doherty’s work in Fundraiser in Chief is examining the intersection between campaigning and governing, especially when it comes to the president him(her)self. Doherty’s chief claim in the book is that presidential fundraising, which is usually studied and explored in direct connection with presidential campaigns, should be more fully integrated into the other dynamics and components of how a president governs and uses his/her time. In an effort to examine the time spent fundraising, not just at public events, but also in private venues and closed events, Doherty compiled an extensive data set that includes information for every president from Jimmy Carter to Donald Trump. (Doherty has continued to add to the data set to include President Joe Biden, but the research analyzed in the book concludes with the 2020 election cycle and Donald Trump’s presidency.) This is a fascinating examination of fundraising, particularly as the laws and regulations have continued to change and shift over the decades. As Doherty notes, every time there is a shift, presidents pursue different options in order to fundraise for themselves, for their parties, and for other elected officials. And since fundraising is a constant undertaking, not just ramped up during election cycles, it needs to be considered alongside other dimensions of presidential governance, like speechmaking/rhetoric, congressional relations, foreign and domestic travel, and the other ways that presidents spend their scarcest resource, their time. The fundraising world that President Jimmy Carter entered, follow