The Electoral Implications of Candidate Ambiguity

Uncertainty pervades the electoral arena. Many voters are unsure about the issue positions of candidates, either because candidates are deliberately ambiguous or because voters fail to receive campaign messages. In theory, uncertainty a¤ects how voters make choices, which strategies candidates adopt, and who wins or loses elections. In practice, though, problems of measurement and endogeneity have impeded empirical research about the electoral e¤ects of ambiguity. We design and administer survey experiments that overcome these obstacles by manipulating the ambiguity in candidate platforms. We …nd that, on average, ambiguity does not repel and may in fact attract voters. The preference for vague versus precise candidates depends partly on individual attitudes toward risk, and on the tendency to see ambiguous candidates from one’s own party in a favorable light.