Thread by @ZachG932

1/ I'm delighted to finally share some of the work I've done since joining @fsuigc.

Last month, we published a report about political tolerance based on national survey data (N=1,004) we collected during the summer. In this study, we measure political tolerance as the willingness to interact with or accept people with opposing political views across different relational contexts. For comparison, we also measured tolerance towards ex-felons and flat earthers.

2/ As shown in the table below, across all contexts, people are much more willing to engage with people with opposing political views than the other two target groups. Regardless of the target group, though, openness tends to decline as the intimacy of an engagement increases. For instance, whereas 73% would engage in a social/recreational activity with political opponents (ex-Felon: 54%, flat-earther: 49%) without reservation, just 41% would be willing to date them (ex-Felon: 22%, flat-earther: 19%)

3/Consistent with this intimacy 'gradient', our analysis finds that our 7 tolerance items best fit a 3-factor structure, which is depicted in the table below.

4/The graph below visualizes the average sample-level scores on each tolerance factor, which reveal the same general pattern observed in the individual items.

5/ Somewhat surprisingly, we observe only small and inconsistent differences in each factor by age group. One notable exception emerges, though, when we further disaggregate the results by sex.

6/As shown below, women overall were generally more reluctant than men to date people from each target group. However, young (and especially unmarried) women (18-29) stand out as most resistant to dating people with opposing political views.

7/ Specifically, 42% of unmarried young women say they would not—and just 27% say they would—date someone with opposing political views as compared to 16% of unmarried young men (52% of whom are willing) and 32% of older unmarried women.

8/As it happens, when further broken down by ideological orientation, we observe some evidence that young unmarried female liberal respondents disproportionately drive the difference.
For instance, 64% of young liberal women are opposed and just 12% are willing to date across political lines––rates that are higher and lower, respectively, than any other group (though the small sample sizes for some of these subgroups––e.g. just 15 young male conservative respondents––do warrant some interpretive caution).

9/ More generally, ideological orientation emerges as the most potent predictor of tolerance in our data. As shown below, for each factor tolerance tends to fall at the extremes: 'Very Liberal' and 'Very Conservative' respondents are less tolerant than their 'somewhat' and moderate counterparts. With this being said, liberal respondents are, overall, significantly less willing to engage with people of opposing political views than their conservative peers.

10/ One particularly striking pattern emerges among Very Liberal respondents: they are significantly more willing to engage with ex-felons than political opponents on average, especially when it comes to more intimate contexts.

For example, whereas 29% of very liberals would be willing to date an ex-felon, just 13% would be willing to date someone with opposing political views. Among Very Conservative respondents, the pattern is reversed: 25% say they would date across party lines, while just 10% would date an ex-felon. Fully 67% say they are unwilling to date someone with a criminal history, compared to 46% unwilling to date across political lines.

11/ The fact that political identity now rivals or even exceeds traditional social stigmas (like a criminal record) in shaping personal decisions points to the depth of polarization in American life. These divisions don’t just affect how people vote or debate online—they shape who they trust, who they befriend, and who they welcome into their families.

12/12 As we further discuss in our report—which I link below—the implications here likely extend beyond politics. In an era of rising loneliness, declining marriage rates, and increasing polarization, political selectivity—especially in dating—may quietly be narrowing social networks, reducing opportunities for connection, and shaping the next generation’s political landscape.

igc.fsu.edu/sites/g/files/…