The effect of political trust on the presidential vote, 1968-96

Scholars hale consistently demonstrated that no link exists between declining political trust and declining armour, but they have paid less attention to the effect of trust on vote choice. In an Era characterized by declining trust, the incumbent party has lost, and third parties have strongly contested, four of the last eight presidential elections. Such outcomes are historically anomalous. This study demonstrates that declining political trust affects vote choice, but the electoral beneficiary differs according to electoral context, lit two-candidate races, politically distrustful voters support candidates from the nonincumbent major party. In races with three viable candidates, third-party alternatives benefit front declining political mist at the expense of both major parties.