Why does government use Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs)? Besides their economic values, we argue PPPs are used for political reasons. Employing a political agency framework, we explain how politicians use PPPs to appear competent and extract rents, and under what conditions these political potentials are attractive and accessible to politicians. By analysing U.S. state-level data, we reveal some political and fiscal variables that are associated with PPP initiations and uncover state PPP legal framework diminishes the associations. By echoing literature on public administration, political economy and state politics, our research responds to the call to study the political natures of PPPs. © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.