Examines whether candidate sex or political party identification are the primary influences on the issues candidates present to voters.
Articles
Gender Differences in Negative Campaigning: The Impact of Party Environments
Argues that in party-centered campaigns the gender balance within parties influences differences in the attack behavior of male and female politicians.
I Am Woman, Hear Me Tweet! Gender Differences in Twitter Use among Congressional Candidates
Synthesizes two theoretical literatures to explain gender differences in Twitter usage and effectiveness among US Congressional candidates
The Trump Majority: White Womanhood and the Making of Female Voters in the U.S.
Suggests white women’s positionality as second in sex to men, but first in race to minorities, and the invocation of white womanhood in political rhetoric...
Which Women Can Run? Gender, Partisanship, and Candidate Donor Networks
Examines the gender composition of candidates’ donor networks.
American Party Women: A Look at the Gender Gap within Parties
Finds that gender differences in policy attitudes are more pronounced in the Republican Party than in the Democratic Party.
Party and Gender Stereotypes in Campaign Attacks
Results suggest that female candidates are particularly vulnerable to trait based attacks that challenge stereotypically feminine strengths.
Which Women Can Run? Gender, Partisanship, and Candidate Donor Networks
Using a unique data set that includes primary and general election candidates for the U.S. House in 2010 and 2012, examines the gender composition of...
A Reexamination of Women’s Electoral Success in Open Seat Elections: The Conditioning Effect of Electoral Competition
Finds that when multiple quality candidates enter the race, female quality candidates are at a greater disadvantage than their male counterparts.
A High Bar or a Double Standard? Gender, Competence, and Information in Political Campaigns
Finds that, in general, evaluations of women seem to be influenced much more by information related to their competence than are evaluations of men.
Candidate Gender, Behavioral Style, and Willingness to Vote: Support for Female Candidates Depends on Conformity to Gender Norms
Explores the impact that women’s and men’s nonverbal forms of communication have on voters’ evaluations of political figures.
“You Tweet Like a Girl!” How Female Candidates Campaign on Twitter
Finds that gender has both a direct and contextual effect on candidates’ communication style on Twitter.
He Said, She Said: The Impact of Candidate Gender in Negative Campaigns
Finds little support for the idea that the effectiveness of either attack or response varies significantly according to candidate gender.
Terrorist Threat, Male Stereotypes, and Candidate Evaluations
Finds that masculine stereotypes have a negative influence on both male and female Democratic candidates in good times, but only on the female Democratic candidate when terror threat is...
The Interplay of Candidate Party and Gender in Evaluations of Political Candidates
Studies the interaction between candidate gender and party on voter evaluations, finding that both party and gender separately influence candidate evaluations, even when accounting for...
Seeing Double: Race, Gender, and Coverage of Minority Women’s Campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives
Compares local newspaper coverage of House candidates to analyze gender and race differences in the frequency and tone of coverage, as well as explicit foregrounding...
Courting the Women’s Vote: The Emotional, Cognitive, and Persuasive Effects of Gender-Based Appeals in Campaign Advertisements
Examines the ways in which citizens emotionally react to and cognitively process campaign advertisements that contain group-based appeals.
The Unintended Effects of Political Party Affirmative Action Policies on Female Candidates’ Nomination Chances
Assesses whether state party affirmative action policies help or hinder female candidates seeking statewide office.
Gender Targeting in Political Advertisements
Finds that only female candidates are able to prime female voters’ gender identity using identity appeals.
A Non-Gendered Lens? Media, Voters, and Female Candidates in Contemporary Congressional Elections
Find that candidate sex does not affect journalists’ coverage of, or voters’ attitudes toward, the women and men running for office in their districts.
Electing Women of Color: The Role of Campaign Trainings
Presents a case study of a unique campaign training program designed for women of color.
The Consequences of Explicit and Implicit Gender Attitudes and Candidate Quality in the Calculations of Voters
Finds that the propensity to pick a female candidate increases as explicit and implicit attitudes against female leadership decrease.
Who Cares What They Wear? Media, Gender, and the Influence of Candidate Appearance
Finds that – for men and women candidates – only negative appearance coverage has an effect, driving down evaluations by lowering voters’ assessments of candidates’...
Gendered Campaign Strategies in U.S. Elections
Demonstrates that the gender of candidates directly influences the types of issues and strategies that each candidate pursues on the campaign trail.
The Effects of Gender-Bending on Candidate Evaluations
Finds that male and female candidates who used gender-bending rhetoric were able to overturn stereotypes by persuading and priming voters.
Measuring Stereotypes of Female Politicians
Find that female politicians seem to be “losing” on male stereotypical qualities while also not having any advantage on qualities typical of women.
The Relationship Between Campaign Negativity, Gender and Campaign Context
Shows female candidates only face a disproportionate punishment for relying on negativity when (1) she is perceived as the instigator of negativity and (2) she...
Media Coverage of Minority Congresswomen and Voter Evaluations: Evidence from an Online Experimental Study
Examines media treatment of Anglo, Latina, and African American congresswomen, finding significant differences in the content of these women’s media coverage and its influence on...
What It Takes to Win: Questioning “Gender Neutral” Outcomes in U.S. House Elections
Findings suggest that the widely cited conventional wisdom purporting gender neutral election outcomes masks consequential sex and partisan differences in congressional candidacies.
Running Backwards and in High Heels: The Gendered Quality Gap and Incumbent Electoral Success
Documents a sex-based quality gap among candidates and links the quality gap to the gender parity in electoral success.
When Gender and Party Collide: Stereotyping in Candidate Trait Attribution
Finds that party stereotypes are more powerful than gender stereotypes in shaping voter perceptions.
Testing the Double Standard for Candidate Emotionality: Voter Reactions to the Tears and Anger of Male and Female Politicians
Finds that male and female candidates are similarly penalized for both anger and crying, but responses to crying differ depending on respondent sex.
A Negativity Gap? Voter Gender, Attack Politics, and Participation in American Elections
Finds that a “negativity gap” exists, where men are disproportionately mobilized by the most negative campaign messages as compared to women.
Comparing Predictors of Women’s Congressional Election Success: Candidates, Primaries, and the General Election
Finds that different factors predict success at each stage and that the predictors of women’s candidacies and success in open seat races are different than...
Looking for Sex in All the Wrong Places: Press Coverage and the Electoral Fortunes of Gubernatorial Candidates
Uncovers evidence of continuing bias in media coverage that works to female candidates’ disadvantage.
The Primary Reason for Women’s Underrepresentation? Reevaluating the Conventional Wisdom
Although women generally do not win primaries at lower rates than their male counterparts, women in both parties face more primary competition than do men.
Intersectionality in Electoral Politics: A Mess Worth Making
Argues that attentiveness to the intersections of race and gender in electoral politics is indeed a mess worth making.