Just like me

Do citizens consider candidates’ social group characteristics when casting their vote? The lack of candidate diversity and descriptive under-representation of groups such as females, young or working class people in parliaments is a common issue in public and scholarly debate. However, existing studies on whether this makes people more likely to vote for candidates that increase their own group’s representation in parliament yield mixed results. Examining voters usage of group cues in their candidate vote for the German parliament election in 2021, we provide new evidence about this mechanism. We find voters to be more likely to vote for district candidates closer to their own age, candidates’ gender however does not influence voting decisions. Interestingly, the results concerning occupational in-group voting presents a persistent puzzle that requires further investigation.