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The 2020 Democratic primary started with one of the most diverse presidential fields in history and ended with a White male candidate. As a means of tempering the disappointment felt by many, and in hopes of spurring voter enthusiasm, Joe Biden, the presumed Democratic nominee, vowed to select a woman as his running mate. His choice of Senator Kamala Harris―the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants―came in the midst of the largest mass mobilization challenging anti-Black racism and state violence, as well as ongoing mobilization seeking to end one of the most restrictive immigration regimes in recent history. Thus, the potential significance of this nomination went well beyond that of gender. In November, when Harris took the stage as the vice president–elect, the moment was felt by many of the key constituencies that had made the victory possible. This included Asian American, Latina, Native American, and, perhaps most especially, Black women.
While there is still much debate about whether the identity of a candidate should matter in elections, there is evidence that it does, in ways that are significant for democracy. Research on political representation, as it pertains to gender and race, demonstrates that the presence of historically underrepresented groups in political office (descriptive representation) can have not only a substantive impact on policies and procedures but also a symbolic impact that changes the attitudes and even the behavior of those groups. The “minority empowerment” theory of politics holds that descriptive representation signals greater political opportunities and inclusion for these groups, something that can promote democratic engagement and participation (Bobo and Gilliam 1990). On the flip side, the absence of descriptive representation may contribute to a sense of political alienation and inefficacy, something that may suppress democratic engagement and voter turnout (Pantoja and Segura 2003). Thus, perceptions of representation are not only a significant component of democratic inclusion (Mansbridge 1999) but an important consideration for political parties in mobilizing the electorate.
The dynamics of identity and its significance for representation, however, are complicated. Individuals often hold multiple identities, and the salience and meanings attached to those identities may vary in relation to each other and to the particular political context (Citrin and Sears 2009; García Bedolla 2007; Valenzuela and Michelson 2016). In an...