Glossary
symbolically conservative, operationally liberal
Identifying with a conservative label while preferring progressive policy, item by item. The label and the policy preferences move independently, so a voter can call themselves conservative and still vote for a minimum wage increase, medical marijuana, or voting rights restoration.
Verified
Why it matters in Florida
It explains the gap this whole site documents. Florida elects officials who campaign on a conservative identity, then passes ballot measures those same officials oppose. The two facts are not a contradiction in the electorate. They are the pattern.
Florida example
In the November 2020 general election Florida voters approved a $15 minimum wage, Amendment 2 (2020), with 60.82 percent, clearing the 60 percent bar. In the same election, on the same ballots, Florida gave its presidential electors to the Republican ticket, 5,668,731 to 5,297,045. Both figures are certified by the Division of Elections. The label and the policy preference moved in opposite directions on a single ballot.
Citations
- Free, Lloyd A., and Hadley Cantril. The Political Beliefs of Americans: A Study of Public Opinion. Rutgers University Press, 1967.
- Ellis, Christopher, and James A. Stimson. Ideology in America. Cambridge University Press, 2012.
- Florida Division of Elections certified results, November 3, 2020
- Florida Division of Elections certified results, November 3, 2020