The Activist Backgrounds of Congressional Candidates in the United States in 2020 – UROP Summer Symposium 2021

The Activist Backgrounds of Congressional Candidates in the United States in 2020

Emily Isyk

Emily Isyk

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

UROP Fellowship: CCSFP, Grand Rapids Community College
Research Mentor(s): Michael Heaney, PhD
Research Mentor Institution/Department: University of Glasgow, School of Social and Political Sciences

Presentation Date: Wednesday, August 4th
Session: Session 3 (5pm-6:20pm EDT)
Breakout Room: Room 2
Presenter: 3

Event Link

Abstract

“This research seeks to understand the role of protests in the functions and dysfunctions of American democracy, particularly the connection between protest participation and the success of congressional candidates. The key working hypothesis is that social movements are able to use protests as a testing ground for quality candidates and that helps candidates to be more successful in communicating their messages to the public. Thus, candidates who are involved in protests are more likely to be victorious in electoral contests, other things equal, than are other candidates.

Extensive internet research was conducted this summer to gather archival data on congressional candidates and their activist backgrounds. The research findings display various patterns among candidates’ profiles:
— the overwhelming majority of the candidates were male;
— candidates with a Democratic party affiliation participated in protests and physical demonstrations more than did those with other party affiliations;
— among the Democrats, younger candidates and challengers had stronger activist backgrounds on average than did incumbents;
— more Republican candidates participated in far-right activism, on average than did those with other party affiliations;
— among the Republican candidates, those with stronger activist backgrounds were more likely to have a successful campaign, and candidates with either Democratic or Republican party affiliation had a higher success rate than third-party candidates.

Authors: Nusrat Atika and Emily Isyk
Research Method: Survey Research

lsa logoum logo