I’m Not Owned! Assessing the Validity of Measures of Issue Ownership

• In Event: Information and Political Knowledge

Abstract

The long literature on “ownership” of issues by political parties has been plagued by measurement issues related to exactly how voters cognitively represent these associations. In particular, most explanations typically revolve around assessments of competency of the political parties, while revisionist accounts have noted the role of partisan priorities in shaping these associations. Using a question-wording experiment with over 40 salient issues in American politics in which respondents are asked to assess the competency of the parties, their preferences between the parties, and beliefs about which party prioritizes the issue, we help settle these competing explanations as the source of ownership. We find important differences across question-wording and issues, as well as broken out by respondent partisanship and their own issues preferences. Specifically, we find that partisanship and respondents' issue preferences strongly predict measures of ownership, calling into question their validity as an aggregate measure of parties in today's polarized climate.

Authors

• Stephen N Goggin, San Diego State University

• John A. Henderson, Yale University