Do white Americans get the policies they prefer more often than people of color?

Which political party controls government dramatically shapes whose voices are heard in national policymaking. Researchers from Loyola University Chicago, Yale University, and the University of California San Diego found that on average:

• White voters’ policy preferences are represented at roughly the same rate no matter who governs.
• Black, Latino, and Asian American voters experience significantly worse representation under Republican control of the White House or Senate.

The study, published by American Political Science Review, included nearly 520,000 Americans’ opinions on 134 major policy issues over 17 years to see whether the federal government responds equally to white citizens and citizens of color.  

Political parties shape racial representation 

Researchers discovered that on average:

• All racial groups get their preferred policy outcomes about half the time.
• When Republicans control the presidency or Senate, Black Americans lose on policy 7-9 percentage points more often than white Americans, while Latinos and Asian Americans lose 4-7 points more often.
• Under Democratic control, these disparities largely disappear or reverse, with Black Americans sometimes seeing slightly better representation than white Americans.  

“This is a mixed finding for American democracy. On the one hand, this seems like relatively poor policy responsiveness when we consider these are salient political issues and many policies with overwhelming public support failed to become law,” said Agustin Markarian, assistant professor in Loyola’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Markarian, whose research and teaching focuses on American politics in the Department of Political Science, led the study and added, “On the other hand, gaps across racial groups were quite muted given historical levels of unequal political power across racial groups. But racial minorities were equally represented only because Democrats governed for more years than Republicans did during our period of study. That can quickly change.”
 

Unexpected findings  

• In the House, Black Americans received better representation where they comprise a larger share of the population.
• In the Senate, the opposite was true—states with larger Black populations saw worse policy outcomes for Black residents.

“This is a sobering reminder that raw political power doesn’t always translate into equal voice in a diverse democracy,” Markarian said.

Contact the researcher(s):

Agustin Markarian 
Assistant Professor, American Politics 
Department of Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences
gmarkarian@luc.edu 

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