Replication Data for: Editor’s Choice: Measuring Candidate Quality using Local Newspaper Endorsements

I construct a new measure of candidate quality differentials using local newspaper endorsements. I argue that political endorsements made by newspapers can be used as expert opinions that reflect quality differences between the candidates in an election. Using a dataset of 21,095 local newspaper endorsements, I simultaneously estimate the quality differences between candidates in 6,432 elections, along with a dynamic measure of the partisan bias of 368 local newspapers. Using the new measure, I show that a one standard deviation increase in relative candidate quality increases a candidate’s two-party vote share by 3.4 percentage points, and that candidate quality accounts for about one-fourth of the incumbency advantage. These findings advance debates on the source of incumbency effects and demonstrate the broader electoral impact of candidate quality. I conclude by discussing the potential of these endorsement-based measures to enhance our understanding of candidate quality in electoral politics and governance.

本文构建了一种基于地方报纸政治背书（endorsement）的候选人质量差异测度新指标。本文认为，报纸发布的政治背书可作为专家意见，用以反映选举中各候选人之间的质量差距。本文依托包含21095条地方报纸政治背书的数据集，同时估算了6432场选举中各候选人的质量差异，并测度了368家地方报纸的党派偏见动态水平。借助这一新测度指标，本文发现：候选人相对质量每提升1个标准差，其两党得票率将提升3.4个百分点；且候选人质量约占在任优势的四分之一。上述研究推进了关于在任效应来源的学术讨论，并阐明了候选人质量对选举产生的更广泛影响。最后，本文探讨了这类基于政治背书的测度方法的应用潜力，以期深化我们对选举政治与治理中候选人质量的认知。