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Objective. Despite lack of attention from urban scholars, candidates' fundraising is a critical component of electoral politics in cities. In this research I evaluate the degree to which candidates' political experience is related to fundraising in city council elections. Methods. Multivariate regression is used to test models of city council fundraising in Chicago and Los Angeles. Results. In both cities, fundraising is a function of incumbency and prior experience as a political staff aide. Political endorsements are also important, especially those that come from incumbent politicians. The competitive environment also matters, as nonincumbents in open seat contests raise more than those who challenge incumbents. Conclusions. Fundraising in city council elections is shaped most notably by a combination of political experience and elite endorsements. For nonincumbents, the importance of prior experience on a political staff suggests a certain career trajectory for those seeking city council seats.Fundraising in city politics is big business. To take just two examples, between 1989 and 1999, city council candidates in Chicago and Los Angeles raised nearly $30 million. More importantly, in 90 percent of the 48 contested races in each city's most recent primary, the candidate who raised the most money also was the top vote getter. Raising and spending money is a critical feature of these elections, yet we know little about the factors that influence candidates' ability to raise money at the city level, in contrast to our extensive knowledge of fundraising in congressional and state legislative

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Electoral coalitions have two parts: the voter coalition and the fund-raising coalition. The voter coalition consists of the individuals and groups that support a candidate through mobilization and voting, whereas the fund-raising coalition supports a candidate through campaign donations. The authors explore the less-studied role of the fund-raising coalition by examining data on the campaigns of Mayors Harold Washington and Richard M. Daley in Chicago. The results point to significant differences in the fund-raising coalitions behind the two candidates and help to explain the distinctiveness of their regimes.