Hey! Governor! Leave them Kids Alone: Political Influence during Childhood

Abstract

Do elected officials merely reflect the preferences of their constituents, or can these officials, once in office, shape these preferences? We investigate this by examining the political influence of U.S. governors. Using data from 200 million registered voters and a regression discontinuity design based on gubernatorial elections, we find that governors increase the future share of voters registered to their party. These effects are all concentrated among individuals who were between 7 and 16 years old during the governor's term. Growing up with only Republican governors throughout childhood, rather than only Democratic ones, increases the likelihood of registering as a Republican in adulthood by 10 percentage points. We also document significant effects on participation in primaries, partisan donations, and political beliefs and attitudes. Finally, we examine the role of the educational system in shaping these long-term political preferences.