Part II
Partisan feeling
Warmth toward one's own party moved little while warmth toward the other party fell, in every group examined.
This part asks how partisans feel about their own party and about the other one, and whether feeling now organizes behavior. Feelings toward the other party sets the baseline with the feeling thermometer in the American National Election Studies. The planned chapters follow the feeling outward. They ask whether dislike of the other party organizes partisan behavior more than attachment to one's own, whether emotional distance between partisans grew faster than their distance on issues, and whether party organizes feelings toward social groups more than race, religion or income do.
Chapters
- 2.1
Feelings toward the other party
Partisans' average rating of the other party fell from 48.0 to 20.6 on a 0 to 100 thermometer between 1978 and 2024, while their rating of their own party stayed near 70.5; 34.7% of the fall since 2008 goes with changes in survey mode.
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- 2.2
Negative partisanship
The association of reported turnout with coldness toward the other party, beyond warmth toward the own party, grew by 2.6 points per 10 rating points between 1978 to 1990 and 2012 to 2024 and grew under every measure, election type and interview mode checked, while House voting and campaign activity show a change only under some measures and comparisons.
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- 2.3
Affective and issue polarization
Did emotional distance between partisans grow faster than their distance on issues?
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- 2.4
Party and feelings toward social groups
Does party now organize feelings toward social groups more than race, religion or income?
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