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Do voters dislike working-class candidates? Voter biases and the descriptive underrepresentation of the working class

Publication ,  Journal Article
Carnes, N; Lupu, N
Published in: American Political Science Review
November 1, 2016

In most democracies, lawmakers tend to be vastly better off than the citizens who elect them. Is that because voters prefer more affluent politicians over leaders from working-class backgrounds? In this article, we report the results of candidate choice experiments embedded in surveys in Britain, the United States, and Argentina. Using conjoint designs, we asked voters in these different contexts to choose between two hypothetical candidates, randomly varying several of the candidates' personal characteristics, including whether they had worked in blue-collar or white-collar jobs. Contrary to the idea that voters prefer affluent politicians, the voters in our experiments viewed hypothetical candidates from the working class as equally qualified, more relatable, and just as likely to get their votes. Voters do not seem to be behind the shortage of working-class politicians. To the contrary, British, American, and Argentine voters seem perfectly willing to cast their ballots for working-class candidates.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

American Political Science Review

DOI

EISSN

1537-5943

ISSN

0003-0554

Publication Date

November 1, 2016

Volume

110

Issue

4

Start / End Page

832 / 844

Related Subject Headings

  • Political Science & Public Administration
  • 4408 Political science
  • 1606 Political Science
 

Citation

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Carnes, N., & Lupu, N. (2016). Do voters dislike working-class candidates? Voter biases and the descriptive underrepresentation of the working class. American Political Science Review, 110(4), 832–844. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055416000551
Carnes, N., and N. Lupu. “Do voters dislike working-class candidates? Voter biases and the descriptive underrepresentation of the working class.” American Political Science Review 110, no. 4 (November 1, 2016): 832–44. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055416000551.
Carnes N, Lupu N. Do voters dislike working-class candidates? Voter biases and the descriptive underrepresentation of the working class. American Political Science Review. 2016 Nov 1;110(4):832–44.
Carnes, N., and N. Lupu. “Do voters dislike working-class candidates? Voter biases and the descriptive underrepresentation of the working class.” American Political Science Review, vol. 110, no. 4, Nov. 2016, pp. 832–44. Scopus, doi:10.1017/S0003055416000551.
Carnes N, Lupu N. Do voters dislike working-class candidates? Voter biases and the descriptive underrepresentation of the working class. American Political Science Review. 2016 Nov 1;110(4):832–844.
Journal cover image

Published In

American Political Science Review

DOI

EISSN

1537-5943

ISSN

0003-0554

Publication Date

November 1, 2016

Volume

110

Issue

4

Start / End Page

832 / 844

Related Subject Headings

  • Political Science & Public Administration
  • 4408 Political science
  • 1606 Political Science