A Vote of Competence: How a Similar Upbringing to Political Candidates Influences Voting Choice

Abstract

A common strategy employed by political leaders to win elections is to establish similarity with their constituents. This article extends previous research on this approach in several ways. First, the authors test and confirm the commonly used, but underresearched, political marketing tactic of highlighting similarity with constituents through upbringing characteristics. Second, given the debate about why the similarity-voting effect occurs, the authors aimed to establish causality of the effect. They found that perceived competence and liking both mediate this relationship in the context of similar upbringing. Finally, the positive effect of similar upbringing only holds for those with average and above-average self-perceptions of political skills, meaning that this approach would not be effective for some inexpert voting populations. By understanding the mechanism behind the similarity-voting effect in the context of similar upbringing, in addition to its important caveat, political marketers can approach campaigns in a more informed manner.

Marketing’s Role in Understanding Political Activity

“…We take an inclusive view of these entities to include individual politicians, government officials, legislative bodies, agencies, and nongovernmental institutions with a political mission. Marketers have a long-standing interest in how these entities develop and sustain relationships with key constituents through political marketing activities such as social media and messaging strategies for political candidates (Conley 2017; see also Meng and Davidson 2020), “get-out-the-vote” campaigns (Hansen and Bowers 2006; Hassell 2017; Rigoglioso 2012), and branding legislation (Ellis, Scassa, and Séguin 2011; Federal Trade Commission 2020). These activities already represent a major marketing sector.…”

“…In a timely contribution to the special issue, Meng and Davidson (2020) examine how voters respond to candidates’ marketing messaging around themes of shared upbringing. Inspired by actual political tactics, as confirmed through text analysis of the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee debates, these authors ask whether candidate messaging about the details of their childhood and early life experiences actually resonates with voters through their intention to support the candidate.…”