Bridges and Walls: How Rising Income Inequality Drives Anti-Immigrant Politics and Republican Realignment

Area of Science:

• Political Science
• Sociology
• Economics

Background:

• Rising economic inequality correlates with increased political polarization and anti-immigration sentiment in the U.S.
• Existing theories suggest economic and cultural grievances influence electoral choices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how economic inequality shapes the relationship between individual economic perceptions, immigration attitudes, and partisan voting behavior.
• To test if inequality amplifies anti-immigrant sentiment and its impact on Republican vote choice.

Main Methods:

• Pooled multilevel regression analyses were conducted using American National Election Studies (ANES) data from 1988 to 2020.
• Hypotheses examined links between state-level income inequality, financial expectations, immigration attitudes, and Republican voting.

Main Results:

• Higher state-level income inequality is associated with more negative views on immigration.
• This association is particularly strong among individuals with pessimistic economic expectations.
• The link between anti-immigrant attitudes and Republican vote choice is amplified in high-inequality contexts.

Conclusions:

• Economic inequality acts as a contextual amplifier, strengthening the connection between immigration attitudes and partisan voting behavior.
• Findings highlight the role of inequality in translating economic and cultural grievances into electoral outcomes.