Do Women Candidates Play to Gender Stereotypes? Do Men Candidates Play to Women? Candidate Sex and Issues Priorities on Campaign Websites

Abstract

While previous research indicates that voters hold gender-based stereotypes of women and men candidates for elected office, the degree to which candidate actions contribute to these views is less well known. The research reported here attempts to determine whether candidates appeal to gender-based stereotypes by choosing to campaign on issues that are in line with voter expectations. Specifically, it examines whether women candidates for Congress in 2000 and 2002 presented campaign issues that were different from those presented by their male opponents and whether these issues conform to expected gender stereotypes, and then compares these findings to that of a men-only race comparison group. Content analysis of campaign web sites is employed to examine the campaign images presented by these candidates. Contrary to assumptions, women in 2000 and 2002 did not focus their issue priorities on a set of gender-stereotyped issues, but instead campaigned on a set of topics that were similar to those of their male opponents.