Policy attitudes, ideology and voting behavior in the 2008 Election

This article examines the impact of policy attitudes and ideology on voting behavior in the 2010 U.S. presidential election. The analysis uses data from the 2008 American National Election Study. The empirical results indicate that the 2008 election should not be regarded as a simple referendum on t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Electoral studies 2010-12, Vol.29 (4), p.557-568
Main Author: Jacoby, William G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Citizens
Decision making
Elections
Ideology
Issue voting
Liberal-conservative identification
Models of vote choice
Party identification
Policy analysis
Policy attitudes
Political attitudes
Presidential elections
Presidents
Public opinion
Referendum
U.S.A
Voting Behavior
Voting behaviour
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Summary:This article examines the impact of policy attitudes and ideology on voting behavior in the 2010 U.S. presidential election. The analysis uses data from the 2008 American National Election Study. The empirical results indicate that the 2008 election should not be regarded as a simple referendum on the George W. Bush presidency. At the same time, voting behavior was not particularly aligned along stark policy divisions; the direct effects of issue attitudes were confined largely to the most sophisticated stratum of the electorate. Finally, liberal-conservative orientations did affect citizens' political attitudes and candidate choices in ways that are fairly unique, compared to other recent elections.
ISSN:0261-3794
1873-6890
DOI:10.1016/j.electstud.2010.04.003