Winning At All Costs? How Negative Partisanship Affects Voter Decision-Making

Abstract

Do voters who dislike the other side prefer candidates who can win, even if they are less representative? Negative partisanship is an important feature of American politics, but few scholars have examined its relationship to voter decision-making. We argue that negative partisanship shapes how voters prioritize candidate electability and substantive representation. Using two conjoint experiments, we find that a primary candidate’s likelihood of beating the opposing party in the general election has a strong influence on whether they are chosen as a voter’s strategic choice (who they would vote for) and sincere choice (who best represents their interests). Importantly, the effect of electability is conditional on voters’ feelings toward the opposing party, but not their own party. Negative partisans are also more willing to trade greater ideological and policy representation for a better shot at electoral victory.