The Origins and Consequences of Racialized Schemas about U.S. Parties

Abstract

Two parallel processes structure American politics in the current moment: partisan polarization and the increasing linkage between racial attitudes and issue preferences of all sorts. We develop a novel theory that roots these two trends in historical changes in party coalitions. Changing racial compositions of the two major parties led to the formation of racialized images about Democrats and Republicans in people’s minds—and these images now structure Americans’ partisan loyalties and policy preferences. We test this theory in three empirical studies. First, using the American National Election Studies we trace the growing racial gap in party coalitions as well as the increasing overlap between racial and partisan affect. Then, in two original survey studies we directly measure race–party schemas and explore their political consequences. We demonstrate that race–party schemas are linked to partisan affect and issue preferences—with clear implications for the recent developments in U.S. politics.

Rooted in Racism? Race, Partisanship, Status Threat, and Public Opinion Toward Statehood for Washington, D.C.

“…Our findings contribute to recent research examining how extreme partisanship, ideological polarization, perceptions of racial threat, and negative racial attitudesfour closely intertwined, but also distinct, forces in American politics (Tesler 2012;Westwood and Peterson 2020;Zhirkov and Valentino 2022)-continue to raise severe challenges for democracy in the contemporary United States. The contemporary alignment of partisanship and racial views-with Democrats tending to have more positive racial attitudes and lower perceptions of racial threat, and Republicans tending to have more negative racial attitudes and higher perceptions of racial threat-intensifies political disagreements (e.g., Mason 2018;Mason and Wronski 2018;Englehardt 2020;Westwood and Peterson 2020).…”

Manifold Threats to White Identity and Their Political Effects on White Partisans

“…America’s major parties have sorted along social, ideological, and economic lines, producing greater intraparty homogeneity and interparty distance (Levendusky, 2009; Mason, 2018). Racial identity is crucial here (Westwood & Peterson, 2022; Zhirkov & Valentino, 2022), with racially conservative Whites aligning with Republicans and racially liberal Whites affiliating with Democrats (Valentino & Sears, 2005). This suggests White Republicans are especially sensitive to racial identity threats because they endorse symbols and principles that bolster the racial status quo.…”

“…Other scholars highlight the disrupted meaning of being White amid growing racial diversity as a major threat to White identity (Danbold & Huo, 2015). Meanwhile, uncertainty remains about how partisan polarization might influence threats to Whites’ racial self-identification (Bai, 2023; Zhirkov & Valentino, 2022), since polarization deeply structures contemporary civic life (Mason, 2018).…”

“…One relevant moderator is partisanship, which shapes contemporary social and political interactions for White individuals and their perspectives about PoC (Ahler & Sood, 2018; Bai, 2023; Huber & Malhotra, 2017; Iyengar & Westwood, 2015; Martherus et al, 2021; Mason, 2016; Mason & Wronski, 2018; Westwood & Peterson, 2022). Some studies suggest White identity finds more fertile ground among racially conservative Republicans (Zhirkov & Valentino, 2022), while other work suggests White identity’s downstream effects are stronger among White Democrats, who inhabit a more racially diverse party (Pérez et al, 2021). These patterns beg for more research into how partisanship moderates reactions to White identity threats, and whether once catalyzed, White identity has asymmetrical downstream impacts by partisan allegiance.…”

An American Paradox: Progress or Regress? BLM, Race, and Black Politics

“…The success of the civil rights movement, partnering with LBJ's Democratic Party, drove white southerners from the party, causing a seismic realignment, one that resulted in the present polarized state of American politics. As it turns out, race is the most important factor on which affective polarization rests, beating out both class and religion (Zhirkov and Valentino 2022). This led to another recent episode of racial progress and racial regress: the election of Barack Obama.…”