CANDIDATE VALENCE: EVIDENCE FROM CONSECUTIVE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS∗

This article develops and estimates a dynamic spatial model of voting. The distribution of voters’ policy positions and candidates’ valence are recovered using individual-level data on voting decisions in two consecutive presidential elections. The estimated model is used to provide an equilibrium interpretation of observed individual voting profiles and aggregate electoral outcomes as well as to conduct counterfactual experiments that assess the impact of candidates’ policy positions, valence, and voters’ information on electoral outcomes.