How centrist voters pull the president’s party back towards moderation at midterm elections

Elections in between US presidential contests – midterms – often attract lower voter turnout but can have important implications for which party controls Congress. In new research, Till Weber finds that about 10 percent of moderate partisans who had previously voted for the incumbent president’s party are likely to vote for the opposing party at a midterm election. He argues that these voters turn away from the president’s party as a way of reminding the White House that the next presidential election will be won at the center, and that they should pursue more moderate policies.