Should Voters Care More about Policy than Character?

The dominant political science models of voting portray rational voters as casting their votes based on which candidate is closest to the voter’s ideal policy preference points. This model assumes that voters care more about policy outcomes they think a candidate will enact while in office than a candidate’s character or leadership qualities (and that voters have, ex ante, ideal policy preference points that they can rationally compare with the ideal policy preference points signaled by the candidates). This article asks whether rational voters should behave this way or not by examining whether ideological signals provided in the presidential campaign are predictive of legislation enacted. Specifically, this article examines the important laws passed over the last thirty years to see if the content of this legislation moved public policy in the direction of the supposed policy preferences of the elected president.