Emotions and domestic vote choice

What is the emotional impact of extraordinary events and how do they shape subsequent electoral outcomes? We posit that voters’ emotional reactions to such events influence whether they are likely to re-think their prior vote choice. We focus on the Brexit referendum as a prominent example of such an event. The referendum outcome elicited different emotional responses among voters, and these challenged party loyalties. Using evidence from an online cross-sectional survey conducted in the UK in June 2017 shortly after the UK General Election, we show that anger is associated with defection among Remainers and enthusiasm is linked to vote-switching among Leavers. Fear, on the other hand, does not have an effect. Our article contributes to our understanding of how extraordinary events and emotional reactions lead to shifting partisan loyalties and electoral change.