Allocating campaign effort in Spain: evidence from four general elections

Abstract

This paper analyses which districts are targeted by Spanish political parties in their electoral campaigns. We find that the major Spanish parties - PP and PSOE - mobilise districts where they are more likely to win a new seat or are in danger of losing one they already hold. The predicted closeness of the district race is more relevant in the smallest districts. We also find that Spanish parties mobilise their strongholds. We suggest that, apart from the pure office-seeking strategies, political finance motivations might also play a role in the mobilisation choices made by Spanish party elites. ; We would like to acknowledge the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for its financial support through the project 'Comportamiento electoral y políticas públicas' [Reference: CSO2013-40870-R].