Abstract
Recent elections have featured various politicians directly appealing to the working class, yet we know little about how citizens react to class appeals from candidates. We investigate this question using survey experiments conducted in the United States and Denmark. We show that symbolic class rhetoric substantially influences candidate evaluations and ultimately polarizes these evaluations across class lines. We also unpack how class appeals work and find that while they increase perceptions of representation among working class voters, they have a more limited effect on perceptions of candidates’ ideological position. Our results help explain how class affects voter decision-making and contribute to broader discussions about the role of political elites in activating social cleavages.
Highlights
Social class was the dominant political cleavage in most industrialized societies for much of the 20th century and appeals to class constituencies, notably appeals to the working class by leftist politicians, were a standard feature of most elections
While upper middle class respondents were not significantly affected by the working class appeal in Denmark and when a Democrat in the US made it, a positive effect emerges when a Republican offered this appeal in the US
This positive effect only reliably manifested on the thermometer item; upper middle class respondents did not report significantly higher vote intentions when the Republican candidate appealed to the working class than when no appeal was made
Summary
Social class was the dominant political cleavage in most industrialized societies for much of the 20th century and appeals to class constituencies, notably appeals to the working class by leftist politicians, were a standard feature of most elections. Election results became less dependent on the shrinking working class as the millennium approached Politicians, especially those on the left, talked less about class in their campaign rhetoric and voting behavior depolarized along class lines (Best, 2011; Evans & Tilley, 2017; Thau, 2019). Working class appeals figure prominently in debates concerning the success of right-wing populist politicians such as Marine Le Pen in France, Luigi Di Maio in Italy, and Donald Trump in the US (Lamont et al, 2017; Mutz, 2018; Rydgren, 2013) What effect does this type of rhetoric have on public evaluations of candidates?
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
