This study investigates whether ties between policy advocates and political parties help the former attain their preferences. Recent years have witnessed an expansion of large-n studies of the shape and volume of ties between political parties and advocates. However, we know very little about how the ties between these important actors shape democratic decision-making and, ultimately, policy outputs. To address this lacuna, we analyze a set of 50 specific policy issues across five countries. Relying on new data from a survey of 1,410 advocates who were active on our issues, we find that there is no general effect of targeting parties on the likelihood of preference attainment on specific policy issues. Moreover, it also matters little whether advocates target large or government parties. Instead, advocates who predominantly target parties they agree with on the policy issue are more likely to attain their preferences. Our study has important implications for not only the literature on party-interest group links, but also the extensive interest group literature discussing whom to lobby.
