Understanding anti-Asian sentiment and political behavior in the wake of COVID-19

Abstract

ABSTRACT Given media reports of racism and hate crimes against Asians since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we examine whether explicit attitudes toward Asians in the United States changed more generally following the start of the pandemic. We compare two national samples of Americans before and after the onset of the pandemic, as well as replicating our findings in a panel dataset that spans the onset of the pandemic. We find that Americans’ feelings toward Asian Americans – but not toward other racially minoritized groups – became more negative after the onset of the pandemic. This heightened negative sentiment toward Asians is observed regardless of political ideology. Moreover, we find that the degree of exposure to the coronavirus is associated with anti-Asian attitudes, suggesting that the circumstances of the pandemic are related to increased anti-Asian attitudes. Finally, across model specifications, anti-Asian attitudes robustly increase the probability of voting for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Democrats with highly anti-Asian attitudes are nearly as likely as Republicans to vote for Trump, weakening the effect of partisanship on vote choice. This research suggests that the pandemic is exacerbating social inequalities in the U.S. in part through shifting racial attitudes – and with political consequences.