Identification and political advertising: Exploring the role of ethnic identification in political advertising campaigns

Abstract

Issues of race and ethnic diversity have emerged as important consideration in campaigning and developing political advertising. This study examines the moderating effect of the strength of ethnic identity for Hispanic and non-Hispanic White voters. The results of the between-subject factorial design indicate that non-Hispanic White individuals with strong ethnic identities hold more favorable attitudes toward a political candidate that advocates against same-sex marriage than non-Hispanic Whites with weak ethnic identities. Non-Hispanic White individuals with strong ethnic identities also expressed greater intentions to vote for and perceptions of similarity to the anti-same-sex marriage candidate. Conversely, Hispanic individuals with strong ethnic identities hold more favorable attitudes toward a political candidate that supports same-sex marriage than Hispanic individuals with weak ethnic identities. Findings show that the degree to which racial/ethnic members affirm their racial/ethnic affiliations influence their voting proclivities when facing a religiously controversial and morally framed social issue such as same-sex marriage.