Messengers of the Left: Racial Liberalism in the Trump Era

• In Event: Responses to the Trump Administration

Abstract

Recent scholarship has focused on the explosion of explicitly racial and prejudicial messaging from the American Right during and after the 2016 election. An overlooked phenomenon has been the response from the American Left. Democrats more explicitly signaled their stances on racial issues and more frequently advocated for minority rights during the 2018 election cycle than any other election in recent U.S. history. What affect do these messages have on voter choice and electoral participation? We argue that due to the conclusion of the partisan realignment which has sorted racial liberals into the Democratic Party and the sharp increase in explicit prejudice from Republicans, messages about racial liberalism should be effective in galvanizing the Democratic base. We test this assertion using two nationally representative survey samples in which respondents view two racially liberal campaign advertisements from a Mississippi Senate race and the Virginia Gubernatorial race. Our findings indicate that viewing the ads increases favorability of the Democratic Party and boosts the likelihood of respondents signing up for email updates from Democratic candidates in the two states.

Authors

• Maneesh Arora, Wellesley College

• Christopher T. Stout, Oregon State University