Why taking an anti-immigration policy position is a poor long-term electoral strategy.

With Donald Trump’s stated desire to build a wall on the Mexican border and to prevent Muslims from entering the US, immigration is at the forefront of the 2016 presidential election. In new research which uses Texas and California’s 1994 gubernatorial election as case studies, Austin Doctor and Jamie Monogan examine the long-term effects of parties’ immigration platforms on their electoral chances. They find that while parties which push extreme immigration policy positions may do well electorally in the short run, over the long-term they may lose support to the other party.