On August 13, 2024, Michael G. Miller, associate professor of political science, published new research in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, titled “Illiberal attitudes among US state legislative candidates.” Several Barnard alumnae, Riley Callahan ’24, Nicki Camberg ’23, Madeline Breeden ’24, and Emma Sherman-Hawver ’23, collaborated on the paper as research assistants.
Miller and his co-authors explain that while extensive research has examined the U.S. public’s political leanings and levels of support for liberal democratic principles, there has been far less attention on this topic to rising political leaders. To address this gap, the researchers fielded an online survey to all candidates for state legislative office in the 2022 U.S. primary elections, with questions designed to gauge the extent to which they hold illiberal attitudes. The researchers intentionally surveyed candidates rather than current officeholders for this study because they assert that this approach provides insights into the future direction of the American government, political climate, and the safety of our democratic norms and institutions.
The results show that while candidates' support for democratic principles remains relatively high, a significant portion of those surveyed are willing to endorse undemocratic behaviors, with notable differences across party lines. Republican candidates are more likely to agree that it is sometimes necessary to challenge election results when they lose. At the same time, Democrats are more tolerant of government and employer restrictions on extreme viewpoints. Overall, Miller and his colleagues’ findings suggest that although support for many democratic principles is high, certain components of democracy may not be well sustained by those who aspire to elected office.