Obama’s Party? An Examination of Whether a Reluctant Party Leader Transformed the Democratic Party in his Favor

Authors

Julia R. Azari, Marquette UniversityFollow
Seth Masket, University of Denver

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-2022

Publisher

De Gruyter

Source Publication

The Forum

Source ISSN

1540-8884

Original Item ID

DOI: 10.1515/for-2022-2054

Abstract

We examine Barack Obama’s influence over the Democratic Party as an ex-president from three vantage points: his popularity among partisans, his control over party nominations, and his rhetorical influence over party platform stances. The findings are somewhat mixed. Compared with other contemporary presidents, Obama is far more popular among co-partisan voters. However, he has had only modest influence in presidential nominations, and, unlike other modern presidents, a waning influence on party platform stances. The findings are suggestive not only about Obama’s own interests but also about institutional constraints of modern presidents.

Comments

Published version. The Forum, Vol. 20, No. 2 (2022): 257-274. DOI. © 2022 De Gruyter. Used with permission.

Recommended Citation

Azari, Julia R. and Masket, Seth, "Obama’s Party? An Examination of Whether a Reluctant Party Leader Transformed the Democratic Party in his Favor" (2022). Political Science Faculty Research and Publications. 123.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/polisci_fac/123