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Values as Heuristics: Core Beliefs and Voter Sophistication in the 2000 Republican Nomination Contest

Abstract One of the central questions of political psychology is how relatively uninformed citizens can make electoral decisions in a way that allows them to be meaningfully represented. We examine this question in the context of a presidential nominating election, a decision‐making environment complicated by the lack of powerful partisan or ideological cues. We suggest that in such contexts, voters use abstract value priorities as heuristics, without considerable reference to particular issue postures or even general ideological orientations. We further hypothesize that, in contrast to issue‐based or ideological voting, the accurate use of value heuristics is often little affected by voter sophistication, enabling even unsophisticated citizens to cast meaningfully representative votes. A study of vote intention during the 2000 Republican nomination contest provides empirical support for our hypotheses.