Replication Data for: Partisan Communication in Two-Stage Elections: The Effect of Primaries on Intra-Campaign Positional Shifts in Congressional Elections
Harvard Dataverse (Africa Rice Center, Bioversity International, CCAFS, CIAT, IFPRI, IRRI and WorldFish)
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Title |
Replication Data for: Partisan Communication in Two-Stage Elections: The Effect of Primaries on Intra-Campaign Positional Shifts in Congressional Elections
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Identifier |
https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/5REXBL
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Creator |
Cowburn, Mike
Sältzer, Marius |
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Publisher |
Harvard Dataverse
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Description |
The influence of congressional primary elections on candidate positioning remains disputed and poorly understood. We test whether candidates communicate artificially ‘extreme’ positions during the nomination, as revealed by moderation following a primary defeat. We apply a scaling method based on candidates’ language on Twitter to estimate positions of 988 candidates in contested U.S. House of Representatives primaries in 2020 over time, demonstrating validity against NOMINATE (r > 0.93) where possible. Losing Democratic candidates moderated significantly after their primary defeat, indicating strategic position-taking for perceived electoral benefit, where the nomination contest induced artificially ‘extreme’ communication. We find no such effect among Republicans. These findings have implications for candidate strategy in two-stage elections and provide further evidence of elite partisan asymmetry. |
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Subject |
Social Sciences
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Date |
2023-12-06
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Contributor |
Cowburn, Mike
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