Learning During the 2020 US Election Campaign

• In Event: How Campaigns Shape Voters

Abstract

Using an original panel survey dataset, we assess levels of knowledge of candidate and party stances before and after the 2020 US election. We find modest evidence of learning. Some voters learn during the campaign that they disagree with the candidate they support. We then test how learners react to their new knowledge. Very few learners change their votes. However, we do find that some learners change their candidate ratings to reflect their policy preferences. We find much stronger evidence though that learners change their policy preferences to reflect the positions of their preferred candidate. We also find evidence that they change their COVID attitudes and behavioral intentions to reflect the stances taken by their preferred candidate during the campaign.

Authors

• Eric Guntermann, University of California, Berkeley

• Gabriel Lenz, UC Berkeley