Partisanship Has a Price: Citizens United and Political Partisanship in the US House of Representatives

This study aimed to determine whether or not a correlation between independent expenditure levels and political partisanship in the US House of Representatives exists, using the Congressional sessions from before and after the Citizens United decision to determine if the decision had any effect on political partisanship. Multiple factors were tested to determine levels of correlation and to adjust for any potential exasperating factors. The study concluded that a very strong correlation exists between aggregate levels of independent expenditures and distance between average levels of partisanship for the parties. However, no causal relationship could be established from the data alone, though the causal mechanism was hypothesized for further research