The Impact of Political Party Affiliation Strength and Party Alignment on Perceptions of Bipartisan Candidates

Political polarization in the United States, or the ideological divide between the two major parties, is at an all-time high, making bipartisan cooperation both increasingly rare and critically important. This study investigated how voter perception of bipartisan candidates is shaped by party alignment (co-party vs. opposing-party), candidate partisanship (partisan vs. bipartisan), and voter partisanship strength (weak vs. strong). Two experiments were conducted using mock newspaper articles about a hypothetical congressional candidate. In Experiment 1, the candidate supported a neutral policy (education), while in Experiment 2, the candidate addressed a polarizing issue (gun control). Results from Experiment 1 showed that bipartisan candidates were rated significantly more favorably than partisan candidates, regardless of voter partisanship strength and party alignment. However, in Experiment 2, bipartisanship was no longer as strongly preferred. Participants favored co-party partisan candidates and opposing-party bipartisan candidates, suggesting that party loyalty influenced perceptions when the issue was politically charged. These findings suggest that while bipartisanship is broadly appealing in non-polarized contexts, its impact is highly contingent on issue and party alignment. Candidates may benefit from promoting bipartisan behavior on bipartisan issues, but risk losing loyal party voters when doing so on divisive topics.