Illiberal Attitudes Among US State Legislative Candidates

We examine the prevalence of illiberal attitudes among aspiring state legislative candidates in the United States. While extensive research has questioned underlying levels of support for liberal democratic principles among the general public in the United States, we are the first to document the extent to which illiberal attitudes are present among the rising class of political leadership in the United States. We find that while the support for democratic principles is relatively high, there are substantial portions of candidates willing to encourage undemocratic behaviors in some areas. We also see some notable differences between candidates of the two major parties. Specifically, while Republicans are substantially more likely to agree that it is sometimes necessary to challenge election results when they lose, Democrats are more tolerant of restrictions—both from government and employers—on extreme viewpoints. Overall, our findings suggest that support for many democratic principles are high, but certain components of democracy may not be well sustained by those who aspire to elected office.

Michael Barber, Hans J. G. Hassell, Michael G. Miller