Why Are There So Many Lawyers in Congress?

Abstract

For centuries, scholars have puzzled over why so many lawyers are elected to Congress. This paper draws on a wealth of new data to weigh in on why this age-old representation imbalance has endured. While lawyers enter politics at much higher rates, self-selection at best offers a partial explanation. Conditional on running, lawyers win at twice the rate of candidates from other backgrounds. Contrary to prevailing theories in the literature, voters do not reward candidates with backgrounds in law. Rather, lawyers win because of a sizable competitive advantage in early fundraising, owing in large part to their professional networks. This study has important implications about who runs for office, who wins, and the consequences for the demographic composition of Congress. It also identifies an underexplored mechanism by which the U.S. system of campaign finance sustains deep representational imbalances.