Exploring Partisan Attitudes of Crime Threat Perception and Federal Spending in the 2022 Midterm Election

by

Faculty Sponsor: Professor Fowler

Aniya Akhtar

Aniya is a senior from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is majoring in Government with a concentration in Comparative Politics and minoring in Data Analysis and Global Engagement. On campus she is involved in the Wesleyan Media Project and Shakti.

Abstract: Using Wesleyan Media Project’s survey data of Americans before and after the Midterm Election, this research aims to explore how increased concern about crime the US is mitigated by demographic factors. Research on the American prison system has demonstrated an increase in incarceration rates over the past decades and illustrated the potency of American public opinion on state-level crime policy. Exploring how crime is perceived as a threat by different racial groups and political parties, this research considers correlations between party and increased federal spending on crime. By utilizing survey respondents income, race and party in the ordered logit model, this analysis explores how voters use identifiers as a heuristic for understanding crime and threats in the nation.

2023AniyaAkhtar