PE Research Seminar: Isaiah Johnson

The Political Economy of Multiracial Candidates
Date
May 1, 2025, 12:15 pm1:20 pm
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Event Description

How do Multiracial candidates engage in signaling their identity to appear authentic to their constituency? This paper investigates the electoral dynamics of Multiracial candidates by extending the identity‐based signaling framework within a two‐period electoral model. Building on the seminal works in electoral agency models, the analysis incorporates heterogeneous policy domains - universal and particular - to capture the strategic interplay between a candidate’s competence and the ambiguity of their racial identity. In my model, politicians possess private information regarding their type, while voters must infer both policy alignment and identity commitments from observable signals. The results reveal that high‐type incumbents engage in overreaction strategies to credibly signal their competence, whereas low‐type incumbents resort to posturing to mimic high-type behavior. This dynamic is particularly pronounced for Multiracial candidates, who must navigate the dual demands of appealing to both minority and majority constituencies. My findings contribute to the literature by providing a nuanced understanding of how Multiracial politicians leverage identity ambiguity to secure electoral support, highlighting the critical role of policy domain uncertainty and voter heterogeneity in shaping equilibrium outcomes.