The Rise of Political Homophily in Battleground States

• In Event: 2229 - Section on Political Sociology Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Political Sociology Refereed Roundtable #13

Abstract

In battleground states, to whom people turn to discuss politics and their vote choice that would matter? Political discussion networks can be large and politically diverse due to the heightened level of political engagement and the need for persuasion. In contrast, voters may talk about politics within a small group of like-minded people to avoid potential conflicts arising from exposure to political dissent. This paper adjudicates these two possibilities using data from 1992, 2000, and 2008 National Election Studies. Employing state-year fixed effects models that exploit variations between election cycles within states, we find evidence for the rise of political homophily in battleground states. Further, we show that the battleground effect on political homophily closes the gap of political homophily between the political majority and minority. Combined, these results suggest that the heightened politicization in battleground states blurs the line that defines the minority and majority but simultaneously thickens the line dividing “us and them”.

Author

• Byungkyu Lee, Indiana University