National Press Club hosts press conference Feb. 7
A national election report, featuring the research of University of New Mexico professor Lonna Rae Atkeson, will be released Monday, Feb. 7, at a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Despite claims that campaign finance reform would result in the death of political parties and their ability to fund a national grassroots and media campaign, the opposite was the case in 2004, according to a new report by the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University.
For Atkeson's portion of the study, she monitored the New Mexico 1st Congressional District race between Heather Wilson and Richard Romero, a spirited contest in which new federal election laws were put to the test, and the activities of the parties, candidates and groups in New Mexico involved with the presidential race.
Atkeson's work will be discussed in one of a series of panel discussions featuring leading academic researchers who analyzed Senate and House elections. The research is part of a national effort by the center to study the impact of the recently enacted Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also known as McCain-Feingold.
In upholding the new law a year ago, the Supreme Court cited prior research by the Brigham Young center. The report to be released Monday is expected to be a key measure of the impact of McCain-Feingold on campaign spending and messages.
Contact: Laurie Mellas Ramirez, (505) 277-5915
Posted by scarr at February 4, 2005 03:30 PM