JOURNAL ARTICLE

Political Alienation and the Trump Vote in the 2016 and 2020 US Presidential Elections.

  • Published In: Public Opinion Quarterly, 2024, v. 88, n. 1. P. 1 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Allamong, Maxwell B 3 of 3

Abstract

This article investigates how political alienation—specifically its two dimensions, inefficacy (feeling powerless in the political process) and cynicism (distrust toward political institutions)—related to voter turnout and support for Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections. Using data from the American National Election Studies (ANES), the study finds that cynicism positively predicted both turnout and votes for Trump in 2016, while inefficacy was negatively associated with participation and did not predict Trump support in either election. In 2020, cynicism no longer significantly predicted voting behavior for Trump, a change potentially explained by a decline in the salience of Trump's "political outsider" image and increased inefficacy among Republican voters amid doubts about election integrity. These findings suggest that the mobilizing effect of political alienation on electoral behavior is nuanced, limited primarily to cynicism, and context-dependent, with implications for understanding support for outsider candidates.

Additional Information

  • Source:Public Opinion Quarterly. 2024/03, Vol. 88, Issue 1, p1
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Political Science
  • Publication Date:2024
  • ISSN:0033-362X
  • DOI:10.1093/poq/nfad065
  • Accession Number:176631238
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