That’s the question posited by the Washington Post in this article, which notes that Democrats this year have a surprisingly good-looking crop of candidates.
The story names several candidates, including our own Heath Shuler:
In most of the races, the Democratic challengers look a lot like standard-issue politicians – not likely to impress the judges at Atlantic City. But there are others who, while they might not have movie-star looks, are certainly well above the C-SPAN median.
The list is decidedly unscientific, but it includes several whose names come up often on Capitol Hill for reasons other than their policy platforms. Among those on it, in addition to Arcuri, are Brad Ellsworth, a swaggering Indiana sheriff; businesswoman Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, who has chiseled features and rides a motorcycle; and Heath Shuler of North Carolina, a strapping former quarterback for the Washington Redskins. In Tennessee, Rep. Harold E. Ford Jr., a lean and stylish 36-year-old, has drawn admiring looks.
The story goes on to note that voters aren’t usually quite so shallow as to vote strictly on good looks. But party operatives are certainly thinking about it
The crop of eye-pleasing pols has party operatives calculating the politics of beauty. “There’s a fine line, and you can’t cross it,” said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Voters don’t like men who look like pretty boys or women who resemble bimbos. “If you’re too good-looking, people won’t take you seriously,” Emanuel said.
Carl Forti, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, agreed that attractive candidates often have an early advantage. But he said voters’ decisions in the polling booth are rarely skin-deep, especially in a closely contested race.
“When each side is spending four or five million, people know the records, and it doesn’t have the same impact,” he said. He noted that Shuler’s popularity has declined in recent weeks following reports that his real estate firm was late in paying taxes. “That’s gone back to being a close race.”
Finally, there’s this from the story. It begs the question – how trendy is WNC?
The looks factor can be maddening for the opposition. One writer on an anti-Shuler blog expressed annoyance at the candidate’s wife, “with all her quips about how cute Shuler is. What a way to decide how to vote!!”
Perhaps not surprisingly, research has shown that voters who are easily swayed by social trends tend to favor more attractive candidates. Conversely, people who resist social trends prefer unattractive candidates.