All Politics is Local: The Influence of Regional Name Recognition on Candidate Support
P1-04
Presented by: Tilko Swalve, Arndt Leininger
A sizable literature has established empirical evidence that higher name recognition can boost candidate support. However, many electoral contests are between relatively little-known candidates. Chances are, many voters have not heard of the names of the district's candidates before they enter the voting booth. We argue that even in these cases, voters can use regionally typical surnames of candidates as a signal that candidates share certain characteristics and preferences with local voters. The argument implies that voters do not have to connect a candidate's name to the person but only identify the candidate as "one-of-us" from their surname. In other words, candidates whose last name indicates that they originate from the region will be perceived as more trustworthy representatives of local interests and therefore rewarded. Using an onomastic database, we code whether constituency candidates in the German federal elections 2005--2021 have a typical regional name. We are able to show that regional names indeed provide candidates with an electoral bonus.