Do moderate voters matter?
Do polarized politics leave anyone left in the mi…
An episode of the The Science of Politics podcast, hosted by Niskanen Center, titled "Do moderate voters matter?" was published on January 25, 2023 and runs 47 minutes.
January 25, 2023 ·47m · The Science of Politics
Summary
Do polarized politics leave anyone left in the middle? Anthony Fowler finds that most Americans’ political views fall between the opinions of Democratic and Republican elites. And that’s not because they don’t understand politics in the same way. Most Americans’ views fall into the ideological continuum from left to right; they’re just somewhere in the middle. These moderates matter for election outcomes. While they participate a bit less, they are the consequential swing voters. Fowler also finds that selecting candidates on policy grounds could matter more to voters than the power of partisan identity. We may not be giving voters enough credit.