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The Politics of Loyalty: Understanding Voters’ Attitudes after Primary Elections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 November 2020

Fulvio Venturino Open the ORCID record for Fulvio Venturino [Opens in a new window]  and
Antonella Seddone Open the ORCID record for Antonella Seddone [Opens in a new window]
Fulvio Venturino*
Affiliation:
Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
Antonella Seddone
Affiliation:
Department of Cultures, Politics and Society, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
*
*Corresponding author. Email: fventurino@unica.it
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Abstract

What happens after primary elections? Strategies of loyalty or defection in general elections have been addressed by US literature mainly by means of aggregate data. However, we lack similar studies in non-US contexts. This article investigates the strategies followed after primary elections by taking the case of the Italian Partito Democratico as an illustration. We addressed the individual drivers of loyalty or defection strategies by considering three different dimensions: (1) the outcome of the primary election, having backed a winning or losing candidate; (2) the strength of partisanship, meant as ideological congruence with the party and partisan involvement; and (3) the leader effect. We relied on four surveys (exit polls) administered during party leadership selections held in 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2019. The results suggest that all three dimensions have an influence on post-primary strategies, but what counts the most is partisan involvement.

Keywords

defectionleadershiployaltypolitical attitudesprimary elections
Type
Article
Information
Government and Opposition , Volume 57 , Issue 2 , April 2022 , pp. 233 - 252
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Government and Opposition Limited

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