Why Parties Gain Votes When the Public Perceives Them Shifting to the Right

Adams, James, Bernardi, Luca ORCID: 0000-0001-5875-9990, Ezrow, Lawrence and Somer-Topcu, Zeynep (2024) Why Parties Gain Votes When the Public Perceives Them Shifting to the Right POLITICAL STUDIES, 72 (3). pp. 1203-1222. ISSN 0032-3217, 1467-9248

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Abstract

We combine two dominant approaches to studying how issues influence elections: one that emphasizes parties’ issue positions, and the other parties’ issue ownership. Research from the latter approach shows that voters ascribe greater economic competence to right-wing parties. Based on this finding, we argue that parties enhance their economic issue ownership when voters perceive them shifting to the right. In the following step, we show that perceived rightward shifts of parties also lead to subsequent increases in electoral support. We analyze economic ownership survey data and election outcomes in 15 democracies over the period 1986–2015 that supports the expectations that parties’ perceived rightward shifts result in increases in economic ownership and subsequent vote shares. We also show that the right-shift vote gains are strongest during recessions when voters prioritize parties’ economic competence.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	elections, political representation, issue ownership, party policy positions
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > School of Histories, Languages and Cultures
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	04 May 2023 08:34
Last Modified:	16 Jun 2026 11:02
DOI:	10.1177/00323217231178979
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3170119
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