This paper examines how demographic characteristics of judicial nominees influence public opinion in the United States.
Conjoint Experiment Design: Using a survey experiment during a recent Supreme Court vacancy, we assessed voter preferences for nominees with varying racial and gender attributes.
Key Findings: Americans show consistent support for coracial nominees—particularly white Republicans favoring white nominees and Black Democrats supporting Black nominees—but find no similar pattern based on gender.
Our results suggest descriptive representation has nuanced effects:
- It boosts public support, especially among politically relevant groups
- This effect appears stronger along racial lines than gender lines
Implications: These findings offer important insights for political science theories about descriptive representation and strategy. They indicate limits to its effectiveness as a tool for generating broad political backing.
