Is that "cold" sentiment enough to get people to the polls, even in cases when they might not feel an equal degree of enthusiasm for their own party's candidate? Yes, Weber says. "What's changed is the striking dip in feelings toward the opposing party, so Democrats are much more cold toward Republicans and Republicans are much more cold toward Democrats." "If we use what's called a feeling thermometer, which is commonly used in the political science literature, and you ask voters on a scale of zero to 100 how warm they feel toward a political party, those who are Republican are about as warm toward Republicans now as Republicans were 30 to 40 years ago, and the same holds true for Democrats, on average," Weber said. And although this hasn't generally changed how voters feel about their own political party of choice, it's certainly stoked negative feelings toward the opposition. While research has shown that Republican politicians' shift to the right has been far more pronounced than Democrats' shift to the left, it's fair to say that both parties have moved farther away from one another, ideologically, Weber said. "Since the early '90s or so, political parties started to grow really polarized, meaning the Republican Party grew more conservative and the Democratic Party grew more liberal," Weber said. The concept of negative partisanship isn't new, but it's intensified as American politics have grown more polarized, says Weber, who researches voter behavior and psychology. It's why your social media feeds may seem more filled with impassioned pleas to vote against a particular candidate than cases made in favor of the alternative. They do so out of animosity or dislike or disdain toward the opposing party," said Chris Weber, an associate professor in the School of Government and Public Policy in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. "Negative partisanship is the idea that people choose a party not necessarily based on the party's platform or even the candidate. The tendency to support a political party or candidate based primarily on dislike for the "other side" is known as negative partisanship, and it's been picking up steam in American politics, says a University of Arizona political scientist. But what might be even clearer to voters when it comes to this year's presidential race is the person they don't want as their commander-in-chief.
Most voters already know who will get their vote when they head to polls in a couple of weeks many have already cast their votes via mail-in ballot. It's not the first time such a claim has been made, but Americans on both ends of the political spectrum seem especially keen to embrace it amid this year's contentious presidential race. 3: "This is the most important election of our lifetimes." It's become a familiar refrain in the months and weeks leading up to Nov.
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