The Effect of Race on the Relationship between Veteran Status and Political Party Affiliation

• In Event: 3483 - Open Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 06. Political Participation, Race, and Right-Wing Conservatism

Abstract

Most veterans have identified as Republican in recent years, and the majority of veterans who voted in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 presidential elections chose the Republican candidate. Yet, as the military has diversified, veterans have also become more racially diverse, and race is strongly associated with party affiliation. In the 2008, 2012, and 2016 presidential elections and the 2010 and 2014 midterm elections, voters of all races but white supported Democratic candidates for President and the House of Representatives with only one exception; 1% more voters who self-identified as Asian supported the Republican candidate for the House of Representatives than the Democratic candidate in the 2014 midterm elections. Recognizing the differential forms of socialization attendant to military participation and identification with a minority racial group, we compare the relative influence of veteran status and race on political party affiliation. Analyzing data from the 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016 waves of the General Social Survey, we find that veterans are more likely to identify as Independent or Republican than Democrat and racial/ethnic minorities are less likely to identify as Republican than Democrat. Yet, interactions between identification with minority racial/ethnic groups and veteran status reveal little evidence to indicate that race impacts veteran political party affiliation except insofar as Asian veterans are more likely to identify as Independent than Democratic and Hispanic veterans are less likely to identify as Independent than as Democratic. Our findings indicate that relationships between racial minority status and political party affiliation are largely unchanged by military participation.

Authors

• Steven Larrimore Foy, University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley

• Salvatore J. Restifo, University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley