Ideologically Extreme Candidates in U.S. Presidential Elections, 1948–2012

Marty Cohen; Mary Caroline McGrath; Peter Aronow; John Zaller

doi:10.1177/0002716216660571

Ideologically Extreme Candidates in U.S. Presidential Elections, 1948–2012

Marty Cohen, Mary Caroline McGrath, Peter Aronow, John Zaller^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Political Science

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Scholars routinely cite the landslide defeats of Barry Goldwater and George McGovern as evidence that American electorates punish extremism in presidential politics. Yet systematic evidence for this view is thin. In this article we use postwar election outcomes to assess the electoral effects of extremism. In testing ten models over the seventeen elections, we find scant evidence of extremism penalties that were either substantively large or close to statistical significance.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	126-142
Number of pages	17
Journal	Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Volume	667
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716216660571
State	Published - Sep 1 2016

Keywords

extremism
ideology
political economy
presidential elections

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Sociology and Political Science
General Social Sciences

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1177/0002716216660571

Cite this

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AB - Scholars routinely cite the landslide defeats of Barry Goldwater and George McGovern as evidence that American electorates punish extremism in presidential politics. Yet systematic evidence for this view is thin. In this article we use postwar election outcomes to assess the electoral effects of extremism. In testing ten models over the seventeen elections, we find scant evidence of extremism penalties that were either substantively large or close to statistical significance.

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Ideologically Extreme Candidates in U.S. Presidential Elections, 1948–2012

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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