united-states contract-law politics
Are political deals legally enforceable?
<p>Are political deals legally enforceable if they are in writing?</p>

<p>For example, let's imagine a candidate makes a deal with a political party: "I agree not to run for office in race X right now, if you agree not field a candidate against me in race Y which is coming up next year and promise to pay me an indemnity of $500,000 if you break the agreement and run in the race anyway."</p>

<p>Is a deal like this enforceable?</p>

<p><strong>Contracts are enforceable - “deals” are not</strong></p>

<p>One of the things required to make a “deal” into a contract is legality of objects. This means that a contract that requires lawbreaking is illegal but so are contracts that contravene public policy. Interfering in the electoral process definitely contravenes public policy.</p>

<p>Not to say that such deals aren’t made and honoured all the time, just that if they are breached a court won’t enforce them.</p>

<p>I don't believe that you could enforce such a deal through a court case. I have never heard of one being so enforced. However, someone who breaks such a deal is likely to harm his or her reputation among political insiders, and find future deals very hard to obtain.</p>
