What do the academics say? More attractive candidates pick up more votes

Welcome to the latest in our occasional series highlighting interesting findings from academic research. Today it’s the electoral appeal of physical appeal:

The work by the University of Exeter and the University Iowa found that the “halo effect” of attractiveness was most prominent in hotly contested constituencies.

Researchers found in those seats the most attractive candidate wins nearly three quarters of the time.

Dr Caitlin Milazzo, a lecturer in politics at Exeter, said choosing attractive candidates could give a party the “edge”.

“While our findings certainly do not indicate that unattractive candidates are unelectable, they do suggest that an attractiveness “advantage” may come into play…

Dr Milazzo chose 75 pairs of same sex, same race candidates from the 2010 British general election who came first and second in the eventual vote.

Their pictures were then flashed up to 153 volunteers in the US and they were asked who was the more attractive.

The results from the beauty contest was then matched up to the actual election results.

Dr Milazzo found that attractiveness correlated to victory in slightly over half the results overall.
But in marginal seats – where a swing of five per cent or less could secure victory – it was much higher at 72 per cent.

This particular piece of research comes with obvious caveats given the details above. It does however also chime with previous research, conducted in different ways yet coming to the same general conclusion.

So that’s an attractive, local, not rich person whose name begins with A that research points to…