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Do Voters Penalize Gay Candidates? Experimental Evidence from Latin America


Journal article


Lautaro Cella, Rodrigo Castro Cornejo
Revise and Resubmit, 2025

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APA   Click to copy
Cella, L., & Cornejo, R. C. (2025). Do Voters Penalize Gay Candidates? Experimental Evidence from Latin America . Revise and Resubmit.


Chicago/Turabian   Click to copy
Cella, Lautaro, and Rodrigo Castro Cornejo. “Do Voters Penalize Gay Candidates? Experimental Evidence from Latin America .” Revise and Resubmit (2025).


MLA   Click to copy
Cella, Lautaro, and Rodrigo Castro Cornejo. “Do Voters Penalize Gay Candidates? Experimental Evidence from Latin America .” Revise and Resubmit, 2025.


BibTeX   Click to copy

@article{lautaro2025a,
  title = {Do Voters Penalize Gay Candidates? Experimental Evidence from Latin America },
  year = {2025},
  journal = {Revise and Resubmit},
  author = {Cella, Lautaro and Cornejo, Rodrigo Castro}
}

Abstract

In recent years, LGBT rights and candidacies have expanded in Latin America. Some argue such progress may provoke a conservative reaction. Do voters punish gay candidates? To answer this, we conducted survey experiments in Argentina, Chile, and Mexico. We find no punishment in the general electorate; voters in Argentina and Chile reward gay candidates, while Mexican voters are indifferent. We then focus on right-wing voters, employing a typology that distinguishes between the moderate mainstream right and the reactionary far right. In Argentina and Mexico, right-wing voters do not penalize gay candidates. In Chile, however, voters aligned with the far-right Republican Party do. These findings suggest tolerance is stronger where mainstream right-wing forces prevail but weaker where far-right actors dominate. Finally, we find little variation in reactions to gay candidates by age but more negative reactions among men, evangelicals, the less educated, and those without personal contact with LGB individuals.


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