Not ready to make nice: Congressional candidates’ emotional appeals on Twitter

Abstract

ObjectiveCongressional candidates use digital platforms to bolster and define their political reputation, and political stalemates over inflation, reproductive rights, and the lasting impact of Trump politics are fueling candidates’ emotionally charged rhetoric on Twitter, especially for women. Against the backdrop of President Donald Trump's presidency and the #MeToo movement, previous research has shown that women running for Congress are leading with angry rhetoric on Twitter. In this article, we ask whether anger is a persistent feature of women's digital appeals on Twitter over time.MethodUsing a data set of tweets by candidates for the U.S. House from 2016 to 2022, we highlight the escalating anger in the emotional appeals candidates make on Twitter and the resiliency of angry rhetoric as a modern feature of political Twitter.ResultsWe find that women, most notably Democratic candidates, are more likely to convey angry emotions on Twitter, not only matching male colleagues but defying gendered social stereotypes to turn frustration into a valuable political asset. Across the four last congressional elections, women have averaged more angry words in their digital appeals, with that anger as a consistent facet of how women engage online. Women are leaning into angry emotional appeals and adopting a negative appeal in their digital engagement that highlights their policy and political frustrations for voters.