Concede or Resist? Experimental Evidence from U.S. Local Officials

• In Event: Federalism and Local Politics in the United States

Abstract

Does partisanship shape local officials’ resistance to state preemption? To answer this question, I report on two original survey experiments and open-ended responses from more than 1,000 local government officers. Across both experiments, I find that local officials are generally opposed to preemption but are substantially more opposed to preemption when they learn that an out-party governor is preempting them. Moreover, local officials are more willing to take action to resist preemption—including legal action, refusing to comply, initiating a resolution, and advocating for more autonomy—when they learn that an out-party governor is attempting preemption. The open-ended responses of local officials corroborate the results of the survey experiments. This research has important implications for local-state government relations and how elected governments represent their constituents in federal systems.

Author

• Alexandra Artiles, Boise State University