The best way to get elected to a state legislature is a. to raise a lot of cash, or b. be in the legislature already—but not as important as cash, according to a study released today by the Institute on Money in State Politics http://www.followthemoney.org/press/Reports/200607201.pdf. But these patterns don't hold if you are running for office in Arizona or Maine, where Clean Elections is law.

Less than seven percent of state-level candidates can win office without having either a financial or incumbency advantage. In 2004, 87 percent of House winners raised the most money or were unopposed. In the Senate, 88 percent of winners did the same.

Incumbency is also important but not quite as much. In 2004, 78% of House winners and 79% of Senate winners were incumbents.

Life is different in Arizona and Maine, where candidates can opt to receive grants of public funding to run their campaigns after raising a set number of small ($5) contributions and agreeing to take no more private money and abide by strict spending limits.

“Arizona and Maine, with their systems of public funding for state-level candidates, both stand out…as states with lower percentages of high-dollar winners compared to other states,” concludes the report.