The Effect of Marriage on Political Identification

The 1984 election lends a hand to Kaufmann and Petrocik’s theory that married men are becoming more Republican. Reagan earned 65.9% of the votes from married men and the least amount, 47.7% from unmarried women (Weisberg, 1987). This polarization not only contributes to the marriage gap, but also to the gender gap. Kingston and Finkel point out that Reagan made his political platform full of “familistic” sentiments and had traditional cultural appeals (Kingston, 1987). The men that were beginning to lean more Republican were being spoken to directly. It was one of the first times these appeals were made in a campaign.

Political Strategy & Conclusion

There is a possibility that politicians are using their marital status as a form of strategy. When you are in the public sphere you must be a role model and have the desirable attributes of a worthy American citizen. Marriage is still an American value that is mainstream and held to higher standard than the single life. A Democratic candidate would probably be the first to run for a major office without being married because of the appeals and position of the party. It could be a completely new strategy for the Democratic Party.

Married couples as well as singles have emerged as a major constituency with great power to effect political outcomes. Their preferences now matter more to the parties as institutions. With the number of marriages decreasing while the political pull of the married increasing, researchers have a phenomenon to follow in future elections and party platforms. 

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