ABSTRACT
Presidential aspirants establish political action committees (PACs) in order to enhance their public visibility and begin the process of developing support for their prospective nomination campaigns. They especially want to begin the difficult and time-consuming task of developing the broad-based financial support needed to sustain a national campaign. A multicandidate PAC is an effective and popular vehicle for achieving this goal because it can help an individual fulfill this objective regardless of his or her prospects for the nomination in the early stages of a presidential race. Whether a presumed frontrunner or relatively unknown dark horse, an individual can improve the financial prospects for his or her campaign by capitalizing on the financial possibilities offered by a precandidacy PAC. A final benefit obtained by forming a PAC is the capacity to make a substantial number of contributions to other candidates. This advantage is a unique feature of PAC sponsorship as a matter of practice rather than law.
