Ideological differences between female and male county party chairs

Abstract

This study compares the ideologies of female and male county party chairs. The data, which are drawn from a 2000 survey of county Democratic and Republican party leaders, show modest gender differences. Women in both parties tend to be more liberal than men on a variety of issues. These gender differences, however, are minor. Women and men in both parties have about the same levels of partisan experience, and, it is speculated, they tend to converge towards organizational norms.

Notes

1 Surveys were sent to both Democratic and Republican local party chairs in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

2 One of the best attempts to classify states on the basis of local party organizational activity is Mayhew’s (1986) study of the historical presence of traditional patronage-based local organizations. Based on Mayhew’s classification, this survey included ten organizational states (Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia), seven southern states (Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia), nine northern tier and plains states (Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin), and eight western states (Alaska, California, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming).