Racial Polarization in Local Elections

• In Event: Local Government Institutions and Political Representation

Abstract

Existing research reveals that race and ethnicity continue to remain stark political dividing lines in many cities. Without partisan cues to help voters make informed decisions, they often rely on the perceived race of the candidates in making their selection. In earlier research we found that candidates of color were penalized in a variety of city council settings. We build on that earlier work to analyze the degree to which different racial groups coalesce around in-group candidates, fail to support various out-group candidates, and behave differently in elections for executive positions and state legislative positions as well as elections for city council. We draw on a large, new representative survey experiment including nearly 3000 respondents to explore these patterns. We find that all racial groups prefer in-group candidates, but this preference varies across groups and across levels of government. We find that these preferences are strongest in nonpartisan, local contexts and moderated significantly by levels of group consciousness and racial resentment.

Authors

• Jessica Luce Trounstine, University of California, Merced

• Shana Kushner Gadarian, Syracuse University

• Melody Crowder-Meyer, Davidson College