Right wing politicians look more alike than those on the left, and voters use this information cue when they know little about candidates

How do voters make decisions when they know almost nothing about a political candidate, including their party affiliation? In new research, Raluca L. Pahontu and Stavros Poupakis argue that when a candidate’s party isn’t known, voters often use an information shortcut – the candidate’s appearance. They find that voters are more likely to select candidates that look more like other elected officials from their preferred political party, and that this effect is stronger for Republicans than for to Democrats.