Black and Latino American support for cross-ethnic coalitions: evidence from two conjoint experiments

We examine how perceptions of race as a source of power and discrimination help shape support for political candidates among Black and Latino Americans. Drawing on two original surveys with embedded conjoint experiments, we explore whether respondents with greater acknowledgement of White privilege are more supportive of minority candidates from other racial/ethnic groups and less supportive of White candidates. The results for Latino respondents are consistent with our theoretical expectations: those with higher levels of White privilege acknowledgement are more likely to prefer Black candidates and are also less likely to prefer White candidates. Among Black respondents, however, while higher levels of White privilege acknowledgement are associated with decreased support for White candidates, they do not correspond with increased support for Latino candidates. These findings highlight the complex dynamics that both enable and limit the formation of cross-ethnic electoral coalitions.