Replication Data for: From Congress to the States: Explaining the Emergence and Membership of Freedom Caucuses in State Legislatures

Since 2017, Republican lawmakers in a growing number of U.S. states have formed ideological intraparty organizations, modeled after the U.S. House Freedom Caucus, that seek to move state policy further rightward. What explains the appearance of these state freedom caucuses, and what kinds of lawmakers are more likely to join them? We show that the creation of these caucuses was initially driven by concerns that state-level legislative Republican parties are too ideologically heterogeneous, but it has since been motivated more by conservative entrepreneurs seeking to spread freedom caucuses to states. We also provide evidence that conservative legislators are more likely to join a new state freedom caucus, as one would expect; but also that, in a few states, lawmakers who are more electorally vulnerable lawmakers or lack internal influence have also been more likely to join. These findings underscore how state-level ideological caucuses can appeal to members’ multiple goals and serve as instruments of vertical polarization in a federal system.

自2017年起，美国越来越多州的共和党议员仿照美国众议院自由党团（U.S. House Freedom Caucus）组建了党内意识形态组织，旨在推动州级政策进一步向右偏移。究竟是何种因素催生了这类州级自由党团？又有哪些议员更倾向于加入其中？我们的研究显示，此类党团的创设最初源于对州议会共和党内部意识形态异质性过高的担忧，但后续的发展动力更多来自那些致力于将自由党团模式推广至全美各州的保守派行动者。此外，我们的研究证实，正如学界预期，保守派议员更有可能加入新成立的州级自由党团；同时也有证据表明，在部分州中，选举处境更脆弱或党内影响力不足的议员同样更倾向于加入此类党团。上述研究结果凸显了州级意识形态党团如何契合议员的多重行动目标，并可在联邦制体系中作为纵向极化的实施载体。