Follow the Leader?: How Voters Respond to Politicians' Policies and Performance

"Lenz looks at citizens' views of candidates both before and after periods of political upheaval, including campaigns, wars, natural disasters, and episodes of economic boom and bust. Noting important shifts in voters' knowledge and preferences as a result of these events, he finds that, while citizens do assess politicians based on their performance, their policy positions actually matter much less. Even when a policy issue becomes highly prominent, voters rarely shift their votes to the politician whose position best agrees with their own. In fact, Lenz shows, the reverse often takes place: citizens first pick a politician and then adopt that politician's policy views. In other words, they follow the leader."--Publisher's web-site.

Author(s): Gabriel S. Lenz
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 2012-10-15
Pages: 341
Categories: Political Science