Stay Curious

SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AND UNLOCK ONE MORE ARTICLE FOR FREE.

Sign Up

VIEW OUR Privacy Policy


Discover Magazine Logo

WANT MORE? KEEP READING FOR AS LOW AS $1.99!

Subscribe

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

FIND MY SUBSCRIPTION
Advertisement

Study concludes that conservative politicians are more physically attractive.

Explore how attractive political candidates influence voter perception, especially with conservative politicians who tend to look better.

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news

Sign Up

Photo: flickr/Gage Skidmore

It's been known for a while that people (or at least men) tend to vote for more attractive political candidates. Not only that, but a previous study found that Republicans and Democrats can be differentiated from their faces. Well, this study brings those results together, reporting that conservative politicians tend to be more attractive, and that voters presented with an unfamiliar candidate use attractiveness level to gauge conservatism. Why are beautiful people more conservative (or vice versa)? According to the researchers, "Our explanation is that beautiful people earn more, which makes them less inclined to support redistribution." We're not sure how this explains Trump, but we assume there are plenty of ongoing studies aiming to do just that.

The right look: Conservative politicians look better and voters reward it "Since good-looking politicians win more votes, a beauty advantage for politicians on the left or on the right ...

Stay Curious

JoinOur List

Sign up for our weekly science updates

View our Privacy Policy

SubscribeTo The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Subscribe
Advertisement

0 Free Articles