Samantha Register

Political Expressions in Popular Music and Participatory Fan Culture

Avery Lord — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:36:56 +0000

Political Expressions in Popular Music and Participatory Fan Culture Avery Lord Thu, 06/18/2026 - 10:36

Political Expressions in Popular Music and Participatory Fan Culture

By: Samantha Register

Abstract:

While theorists have debated the role of popular culture in citizens’ lives, evidence indicates that consumers play an active role in their consumption of pop culture. This participatory consumption has been exacerbated by the increasing variety in entertainment outlets and rise of social media. Additionally, political discourse within popular culture has been heightened in recent years. This is particularly notable within the music industry, where different music genres are associated with different political values: country music with conservatism and hip-hop and pop music with liberalism. This study examines the way in which musicians of different genres express their political beliefs, including through lyrics, music videos, public statements, and social media posts. Furthermore, this study also examines how fans react to artists’ political expressions and how expression of political beliefs impacts artists’ subsequent careers. Results indicate that musicians who express beliefs in opposition with their genre’s fan base, like the Dixie Chicks did by criticizing George W. Bush, face intense backlash from fans and are no longer able to be as successful in their careers. Likewise, stars who make political statements in accordance to their fans’ political beliefs earn praise and admiration. Despite an increasing demand for music stars to share their political beliefs publicly, as demonstrated by the reaction to Taylor Swift not endorsing a 2016 presidential candidate, there is little evidence that celebrity endorsements impact the outcome of an election. However, there is evidence that music stars’ political statements can have an impact when stars direct their fans who already share their political views to take action, as evidenced by Lady Gaga encouraging her fans to contact their representatives to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. With social media contributing to an artificial sense of intimacy between musicians and fans, these fans will likely continue demanding their favorite stars share their political beliefs in the coming years.

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Red, Blue, and Going for Gold: Partisan Support for Olympic Host Bids

Avery Lord — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:34:59 +0000

Red, Blue, and Going for Gold: Partisan Support for Olympic Host Bids Avery Lord Thu, 06/18/2026 - 10:34

Red, Blue, and Going for Gold: Partisan Support for Olympic Host Bids

By: Samantha Register

Abstract:

Recent opposition to Olympic bids in American cities underscores some residents’ disapproval of their cities hosting mega-events. In this study, I test whether partisanship plays a role in residents’ support for a local Olympics bid using survey data from Houston, Texas in 2001 and Colorado statewide surveys from 2022 and 2023. I find that Republicans and conservatives were indeed less supportive of using public funds for the Houston 2012 bid. However, the Colorado 2022 survey indicates Republicans were more supportive of Denver entering a host bid. To test whether explicitly priming residents to consider public spending activates partisanship, respondents of the 2023 Colorado survey received one of two versions of the Olympics bid question, the second of which explicitly mentions spending public funds to win a bid. Results demonstrate that interacting partisanship with the public spending treatment indeed leads to less support for such projects, particularly among Republicans and independents.

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Not Me, Us: Political Parasocial Relationships in the Digital Age

Avery Lord — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:33:26 +0000

Not Me, Us: Political Parasocial Relationships in the Digital Age Avery Lord Thu, 06/18/2026 - 10:33

Not Me, Us: Political Parasocial Relationships in the Digital Age

By: Samantha Register

Abstract:

Social scientists have studied parasocial relationships since the 1950s, often in the con
text of television talk shows or popular soap opera characters. However, researchers have only
examined the phenomenon of political parasocial relationships in recent years, and many of these
studies focus on Donald Trump. Furthermore, little research exists on how these relationships af
fect political participation. I argue firstly that the nature of one-sided relationships voters form
with politicians has changed due to advancements in communications technology and changes in
our media environment, including social media. Additionally, these relationships affect voters’
real-world behaviors, including both political discussions and campaign involvement. Using an
updated version of the Rubin et al. (1985) Parasocial Interaction Index, I find that strength of parti
sanship and political interest predict strength of parasocial attachment to a politician. Other factors,
like demographic similarities and attitudes towards government, are more important in the forma
tion of parasocial relationships with specific political figures. Next, in an examination of public
communications from Members of Congress, I find that social media posts that include “person
alized content” receive more engagement from followers and are more effective at strengthening
parasocial bonds for voters who share a candidate’s political ideology. Finally, based on obser
vational data from a nationally representative survey and results from a survey experiment using
the Colorado Political Climate Survey, I find that strength of parasocial attachment to a political
figure is correlated with both traditional and online modes of political participation. Furthermore,
exposure to certain types of personalized content from a politician when interacted with strength of
parasocial attachment results in greater intent to participate in a political campaign. These results
emphasize the importance of public image and communications strategies for inspiring political
participation in our current information environment

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Who Claims Fraud? Correlates of State Legislators' Voter Fraud Claims

Avery Lord — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:31:35 +0000

Who Claims Fraud? Correlates of State Legislators' Voter Fraud Claims Avery Lord Thu, 06/18/2026 - 10:31

Who Claims Fraud? Correlates of State Legislators' Voter Fraud Claims

By: Samantha Register, Srinivas Parinandi, Alexandra A Siegel

Abstract:

State legislators play a key role in election administration, but have increasingly challenged the legitimacy of elections. Using a dataset of tweets from over 4200 state legislators, we examine the institutional, individual, and state-level factors associated with legislators' propensity to make electoral fraud claims from 2019 to 2022, a period characterized by heightened criticism of status quo electoral procedure. We find that Republican partisanship, state polarization, serving in a state with a higher nonwhite population, and belonging to the state's upper chamber are correlated with more frequent election fraud tweets. Meanwhile, legislative professionalism, committee leadership, unified government, and being a female legislator are associated with making fewer fraud claims. By shifting attention from Congress to state legislatures—institutions that directly oversee election rules and administration—we identify correlates of public contestation of electoral procedure among subnational elites.

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Who Claims Fraud? Correlates of State Legislators' Voter Fraud Claims

Avery Lord — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 20:54:25 +0000

Who Claims Fraud? Correlates of State Legislators' Voter Fraud Claims Avery Lord Tue, 06/16/2026 - 14:54

Who Claims Fraud? Correlates of State Legislators' Voter Fraud Claims

By: Samantha Register, Srinivas Parinandi, Alexandra A Siegel

Abstract:

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