Does leadership matter in the political arena? Voter perceptions of candidates' transformational and charismatic leadership and the 1996 U.S. president

Abstract

Two models of leadership often discussed in both the political and business contexts are transformational and charismatic leadership. To date there have been no systematic investigations that focus on the importance of these leadership models in determining voter preferences and choice. The present study investigates the relationship between voters' transformational and charismatic leadership assessments of the two main contenders. President Clinton and Bob Dole, and actual voting behavior in the 1996 Presidential election. Data were collected from the respondents both before and after the election. The findings indicate that leadership evaluations have a significant impact on both intent to vote and actual voting behavior even after accounting for the influence of party identification. Implications of the findings for research and practice are discussed.