Candidate authenticity and the Iowa Caucus

Kenny, John, Larner, Jac and Lewis-Beck, Michael S. (2021) Candidate authenticity and the Iowa Caucus. Electoral Studies, 73. ISSN 0261-3794

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Abstract

Candidate ‘authenticity’ has become a frequent explanation of electoral performance. Yet its study in electoral research has been largely neglected. Building on recent work, we test its relationship with candidate support in the 2020 Iowa Democratic Caucus through a survey of likely Caucus goers. The Caucus offers an ideal setting — a contest focused on candidates and their personalities, in a context having far-reaching political implications. We demonstrate that authenticity perceptions played an important role in individual vote intentions. Indeed, for Biden and Buttigieg perceptions of their authenticity were strongly associated with vote intention even when controlling for other established traits. Warren, unlike the others, benefited indirectly, because her authenticity triggered substantial support among female voters. The performance of the authenticity trait, direct and indirect, points to its pivotal potential in the 2020 presidential campaign.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	authenticity,candidate traits,democratic party,iowa,us presidential primaries and caucuses,voting
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	University of East Anglia Schools > Faculty of Science > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	16 Sep 2021 11:15
Last Modified:	10 Mar 2023 01:38
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/81418
DOI:	10.1016/j.electstud.2021.102390

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