The Stability of Ideological Attachments Beyond Liberal and Conservative
Shambaugh Memorial Conference
Sep 2026
Andrew Trexler
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Christopher Johnston
Duke University
The 7-Point Scale
Where would you place yourself on this scale?
- Very liberal
- Liberal
- Somewhat liberal
- Middle of the road
- Somewhat conservative
- Conservative
- Very conservative
Known Issues
- Many struggle to place themselves on this scale
- Economic versus social dimensions
- Policy preferences versus social identity
- Roughly 1 in 4 select the middle category
- Not clear that their attitudes are actually moderate
Trexler and Johnston (2025)
Trexler and Johnston (2025)
Which of the following describes your beliefs and attitudes? Please check all that apply.
- Liberal
- Progressive
- Green
- Environmentalist
- Socialist
- Communist
- Cosmopolitan
- Conservative
- Traditional
- Libertarian
- Nationalist
- Populist
- Fascist
- Communitarian
Trexler and Johnston (2025)
Extensions
- 2024 Cooperative Election Study
- Pre/post election panel design to test stability
- Test relationships with pre/post election attitudes
- 2019 Views of the Electorate Study
- Identification with 19 items
- Gradation: “Not well at all” \(\rightarrow\) “Extremely well”
- CampaignView
- Use of ideological language on candidate websites
- Early stage!
Pre-election Identification
Pre-election Most Important Identities
Probability of Re-selection
Takeaways
- Broad heterogeneity in ideological attachments in the mass public
- Attachments to unconventional labels reflect credible attitudes
- Moderately stable over time
- Surprising divergence from incidence in elite rhetoric
