Sore Losers? Intra-Party Competition and Member Activism

Drawing upon the ‘satisfaction with democracy’ and ‘divisive primary’ literatures, this paper examines how losers of intra-party elections respond to defeat and the consequences that these choices have on party organization and strength. Do losers of intra-party elections continue to support the party or do they, like losers of general elections, feel less satisfied with democracy and withdraw their support (or even ‘exit’ the party)? Exploring rates of membership activism and satisfaction from a recent study of party members, this paper demonstrates that members who supported a losing candidate in an intra-party election are significantly less likely to remain active and engaged in party politics. At the same time, these intra-party losers are significantly more likely to report dissatisfaction with party membership. These findings should be troubling for parties and suggests that parties must find a way of keeping losers engaged with the party.