An Era of Heightened Polarization: The Effect of Party Endorsements on Political Opinion

Abstract

Do party endorsements influence political party conformity? In a country with intensifying polarization, this study investigates the impact of party endorsements on an individual’s alignment with political beliefs. An original survey experiment presented participants from each party with six political statements. The control group received only the political statements, while the treatment group was informed that their own party endorsed the statements, in some cases even though their party does not. Analysis of the findings indicates that party endorsements significantly influence participants’ inclination toward party-line agreement, even when endorsing non-characteristic party beliefs. The results show how party cues create political opinions and imply that strategic endorsements have a powerful impact on public opinion, possibly escalating polarization. The relative convergence of opinions across party beliefs in the control group suggests an underlying bipartisan consensus that is frequently obscured by rigid party affiliations. Acknowledging common ground across the political divide may serve as a means of reducing polarization and highlighting the possibility of a more sophisticated and less polarized political dialogue.