Party Leaders Prefer Extremes Despite General Election Goals

New survey data reveals that local party leaders—especially Republicans—are more likely to support extreme candidates than centrists. This challenges conventional wisdom about primary elections reducing elite polarization.

Background and Data

Researchers surveyed 1,118 county-level political figures across the United States.

• Explored how much party leaders prioritize electability versus ideological similarity
• Tested assumptions about their candidate selection strategies in primaries vs. general elections

Key Findings

Contrary to predictions that leaders favor centrists for electoral success, results show:

• Leaders most prefer candidates similar to themselves or typical co-partisans
• Democratic leaders (2:1) and Republican leaders (10:1) strongly favored extremists when given choices
• Republicans especially believed extremists could win general elections while overestimating voter conservatism by double digits

Implications for Political Science

These findings suggest primary election reforms to increase local leader influence may unintentionally worsen partisan polarization. Understanding candidate selection preferences is crucial for analyzing US electoral politics and party dynamics.