Dataset associated with “Rethinking Descriptive Representation in the 2019-2020 U.S. Democratic Primary Debates” (EJPG)

Manuscript Title: “Rethinking Descriptive Representation in the 2019-2020 U.S. Democratic Primary Debates”Author: Christina Xydias, PhD; Associate Professor, Bucknell University; USAAbstract: Advocacy for historically marginalised groups is often attributed to officeholders who are viewed as group members, themselves, and they are called descriptive representatives. However, this account of political representation rarely includes whether the officeholder themselves self-identifies as a group member. A burgeoning literature examines the significance of public figures’ self-presentation. This study splices public figures’ self-presentation into analyses of the correspondence between descriptive and substantive representation. It examines the U.S. Democratic primary debates (2019-2020) for descriptive and substantive representation. It shows that public figures who are not widely received as the members of historically marginalised groups may nonetheless narratively construct the descriptive representation that is generally expected to go with substantive representation. Individuals who are widely viewed as descriptive representatives do not consistently call attention to this group membership; however, when they do, they are especially likely to advocate for the social groups whose membership they are understood to share.