Economics Job Candidate Seminar

Abstract: I study partisan gerrymandering when district composition affects candidates' policy positions and, consequently, voters' behavior. In the U.S., primary elections determine which candidates compete in general elections, with a district's ideological composition shaping who emerges as the nominee. Thus, redistricting affects not only which party wins but also the ideology of competing candidates. I find that classical gerrymandering strategies can backfire when candidates emerge endogenously, particularly in districts where extreme voters may select non-viable candidates. However, when properly designed to account for both voter affiliation and preference intensity, gerrymandering can be a more powerful instrument than traditional approaches that consider only party affiliation. I show how methods from optimal transport theory can be used to characterize the optimal redistricting plan, which creates districts that maximize ideological distance between competing candidates. Using these findings, I analyze two implications for the U.S. House of Representatives: how gerrymandering contributes to political polarization and its consequences for minority representation.