ABSTRACT
Twenty-four states have passed full or partial public financing schemes into law. The evidence of so many voters in the states actively supporting reform indicates that support for reform in the country is very large, which suggests reform is politically feasible. Victories in these states have led reformers to target other states that might establish public financing of campaigns. There is considerable doubt in well-informed circles about the chances of enacting effective campaign finance reform at the federal level. The political potential of campaign reform can best be gauged by assessing the relative strengths, actual and potential, of reform and anti-reform forces. Congressional resistance to reform is an impregnable fortress, unless and until reformers organize the public to bring overwhelming pressure to bear on Congress. The elasticity of is best gauged by determining the potential strength of reformers.
