Abstract
Using multilevel social network and standard statistical analysis, this paper compares three levels of a state-level lobbying network - the network of individual lobbyists, the network of lobbying organizations, and the client or principal network - in order to provide a more nuanced understanding of the structure and dynamics of state-level interest groups. North Carolina is unusual in that it provides public longitudinal data since 1993 covering all three levels of relations. By engaging in this comparison, we hope to further parse the key characteristics of the network in order to understand its evolving structure. Specifically, how do different levels of the lobbying network evolve and change? How do key network characteristics differ across network levels? How are changing connections over time between lobbyists, lobbying organizations, and their clients associated with key political variables such as perceived influence?