Do Republican and Democratic legislators have polarized views of their district’s demographics?¹

Do Republican and Democratic politicians hold the same perceptions about the demographic composition of their district? We test this question by asking state legislators about the size of five key demographic groups in their district and compare their responses to the actual measures. We find that legislators hold misperceptions about some of their district demographics, but not those related to race and ethnicity. Significantly, legislators’ perceptions of their district’s demographics are not polarized along party lines. Misperceptions exist but these are not explained by party affiliation. On a positive note, these results suggest there can be a basis for common ground among politicians on factual matters.