New methods for comparing the impact of issues on presidential voting /
This case study describes two new measures used to compare the relative importance of issues in U.S. presidential elections. The first measure addresses a key component of issue voting: whether voters perceive any differences in the positions taken by Republican or Democratic presidential candidates...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
London :
SAGE Publications Ltd,
2020.
|
| Series: | SAGE Research Methods. Cases.
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | This case study describes two new measures used to compare the relative importance of issues in U.S. presidential elections. The first measure addresses a key component of issue voting: whether voters perceive any differences in the positions taken by Republican or Democratic presidential candidates. The American National Election Studies have included consistent questions on voters' perceptions of candidate differences on a range of issues (defense spending, government spending, aid to Blacks, women's roles, abortion, and guaranteed jobs) since the 1970s. I could thus calculate a candidate difference score for each issue and use these scores to compare the impact of issues on the vote. The second measure, a wedge weight, assesses whether a particular issue is successful in inducing voters to cross party lines. The results show that women's issues have consistently been strong predictors of the vote, even with controls for party identification, demographics, and opinions on other issues or the state of the economy. In 2012, a highly effective wedge issue for the Democrats was the perception that the Democratic Party was better for the interests of women. |
|---|---|
| Physical Description: | 1 online resource. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9781529722093 1529722098 |