Americans’ political behavior and beliefs have grown ever more partisan over the past 40 years. Democrats and Republicans alike have become more likely to support their own party’s candidates, to adopt their own party’s issue positions, and even to distort their perceptions of objective facts to fit their own party’s […] Read more »
When the Mask You’re Wearing ‘Tastes Like Socialism’
The Covid-19 pandemic has divided Americans into two camps. To no one’s surprise, lockdown politics have joined the legion of issues that pit Democrats against Republicans. … The partisan fight over the lockdown has shown us, once again, how differently the choices government leaders make look to different constituencies of […] Read more »
Why Democrats Can’t Rely On Voter Anger This November
… Increased anger isn’t a new phenomenon, but it is a rising one. Political scientist Steven Webster argues in his book, “American Rage,” that this current moment of partisan rancor is the culmination of a long pattern of increased anger in American politics. Webster finds that politicians in both parties […] Read more »
Changes in Candidate Evaluations over the Campaign Season: A Comparison of House, Senate, and Presidential Races
Campaigns devote considerable resources to persuading potential voters to support their own candidate over the opposition. Yet, less is well known about the dynamics of candidate support at the aggregate and individual level. … In this paper, we provide two contributions to the study of campaigns. First, we provide a […] Read more »
The Gendered Politics of Congressional Elections
When Senator Elizabeth Warren was asked whether she believed that the men in the 2020 presidential race have a better chance of beating Trump solely because of their gender, she answered, “I believe they may think so, but they’d be wrong. […] What the data show now is that in […] Read more »
Rally (Mostly) ‘Round the (State) Flag
In an existential crisis, citizens frequently unite behind their political leaders. This “rally ‘round the flag” effect is well-documented, especially in the United States, where public support for the president can shoot up dramatically in times of emergency. George W. Bush benefited from a surge in popularity after the September […] Read more »