Ranked choice voting is improving VA GOP primaries. Other states should pay attention.
In a new op-ed for The American Spectator, “Time for the GOP to Embrace Ranked Choice Voting,” Center for Campaign Innovation Director Eric Wilson makes the case that Republicans should consider ranked choice voting to improve crowded primary elections.
Wilson writes that RCV can lead to more positive campaigns & stronger nominees coming out of Republican primaries – a marked contrast to the nasty, personal attacks and campaign strategies seen in this year’s midterm cycle.
Wilson’s piece focuses on a new survey of Republican primary voters in two Virginia congressional districts, conducted by the Center for Campaign Innovation and 3D Strategic Research.
The background and key findings of the survey are:
Virginia’s 7th and 10th Congressional Districts are neighbors, currently served by incumbent Democrats, and had crowded Republican primary fields. The 7th District nominated their candidate via state-run primary and the 10th District chose a RCV firehouse primary. This offered a unique opportunity to measure the effects of the nomination method. Our survey of Republican primary voters found three key outcomes:
1. Hung Cao, the GOP nominee in CD10 selected by RCV, emerged from the contest with a higher net favorable image (+78) than Yesli Vega, nominated in CD7 with a plurality (+51).
2. 84% of voters in CD10 said the Republican candidates ran a positive campaign compared to 59% in CD7. 17% of moderate primary voters in CD7 rated the campaigns as negative, compared to just 4% in CD10.
3. In CD10, the two runners-up (Jeanine Lawson & Brandon Michon) had a higher net favorable image than the winner (Yesli Vega) did in CD7.
Over the last two years, the Republican Party of Virginia has used RCV extensively to nominate strong candidates, including in this year’s CD10 and CD11 primaries. Most notably, an RCV convention was used to nominate now-Governor Glenn Youngkin, Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears, and Attorney General Jason Miyares in 2021.
As Republican Party of Virginia Chair Rich Anderson noted in a recent Governing article,
Using ranked-choice voting in party-run nomination contests in Virginia has dramatically improved the precision and quality of Republican campaigns…. Early on, Republicans noted a decidedly positive change in the tenor and tone of our statewide campaigns, culminating in Glenn Youngkin’s astonishing success last November.
The Center for Campaign Innovation / 3D Strategic Research survey offers yet more evidence to support Anderson and other Virginia Republicans’ analysis: ranked choice voting works.
