Direct and Indirect Effects of Emotions towards Party Leaders on Voting: Evidence from the 2018 Andalusian Regional Election

Abstract

Party leaders are increasingly relevant to voters’ choices in parliamentary systems. However, most studies addressing the electoral impact of leaders have largely ignored voters’ emotional responses to party leaders. Additionally, little is known about the effect of party leaders in subnational or regional elections. Using data from a specific election survey, this article examines the effect of emotions towards party leaders on regional voting. It assesses whether emotional responses to party leaders not only have direct effects, but whether they also have indirect effects through partisanship on voting. We found evidence that emotions towards party leaders have both direct and indirect effects through partisanship on vote choice.