Nontraditional candidates for elective office—including non-Whites, women, and homosexuals—have been rare in American politics, with the exception of a virtual explosion of nontraditional candidates in recent years. In reflection of these trends, research on political evaluation concerning nontraditional candidates has blossomed. Although significant advances have been made in our understanding of the role that gender and race play in political evaluation, we know much less about how members of other political minority groups, particularly gays and lesbians, are evaluated in electoral politics. Drawing on two experimental investigations, using highly realistic audio-visual vignettes of ostensible candidates for office, I explore how voters' responses to politically identical gay and lesbian candidates differ depending on whether their attributes are consistent or inconsistent with their respective group's stereotypes. I also investigate differences in political responses to gay and lesbian candidates as a function of respondents' gender, ending with a discussion of the findings' political implications.
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