Mission Local looks to understand the relationship between dollars and votes in a 2024 local election.
You're a reporter at Mission Local an independent San Francisco-based news site. The results have just come in for local elections that were held on March 5, 2024 One of the things on the ballot is the DCCC election, a committee that governs the local Democratic Party.
Here's a bit of background information from the San Francisco Chronicle:
Colloquially referred to as the “D-triple-C,” the DCCC governs the local Democratic Party. It’s made up of 24 elected members — 14 from the 17th Assembly District, which encompasses San Francisco’s east side, and 10 from the 19th Assembly District, which includes the city’s west side. It also has eight “ex-officio” members, consisting of San Francisco Democrats elected to state and federal offices.
Every four years — during the primary election of a presidential election year — all elected DCCC seats are up for grabs and can be voted on by registered Democrats in San Francisco.
Often, this is a rather dull affair. Although the DCCC can be a stepping stone to higher office, it can nevertheless be a tough sell to potential candidates: The job has no salary, and it’s known for being a cutthroat political environment.
This year, however, the DCCC race is a marquee attraction.
More than $2 million has been poured into the race by backers of the two main groups, or slates, of DCCC candidates — a potentially record sum. Most of that money comes from moderate tech-affiliated and labor groups supporting a moderate slate called SF Democrats for Change, which promises to restore “common sense” to a DCCC that it accuses of taking positions “out of sync with San Francisco voters,” including “defunding public safety initiatives” and refusing to take a stance on the 2022 school board recall. Labor groups, meanwhile, are backing the progressive Labor and Working Families slate, which promises to fight for a San Francisco “that works for everyone, not just the billionaires” and to protect the city from a reversion “back to failed Reagan-era policies.”
There are 30 candidates running for 14 seats in the 17th district and 21 candidates fighting for 10 spots in the 19th.
Most of these candidates are running on the big slates. There are practical reasons for this: It’s extremely expensive for individual candidates to send out campaign mailers and ads. By joining forces and pooling funds, candidates can reach more people at a lower cost and benefit from the name recognition and political expertise of better-known contenders.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
You want write an article about the role money played in this election. So you download the data and start analyzing. Did dollars buy votes in this election?