Local Parties and Election Outcomes

Abstract

Chapter 5 assesses whether candidates running in areas where their local party organization is active tend to perform better than those running in otherwise similar areas, but where the organization is less active. We examine the relationship between local party activity and outcomes in races for state legislature and Sheriff, as well as for federal elections. Our evidence indicates that local party efforts can affect both federal and local election outcomes. Notably, these relationships only emerge in contexts where the party is electorally disadvantaged. This suggests that party efforts in areas where the party is unlikely to win elections at the county level are particularly likely to improve the electoral fortunes of their party’s candidates up and down the ballot. This underscores the ability of small local parties to project their power outward, with ripple effects that shape broader politics at all levels of American government.