Unsuccessful Candidates Are More Concerned About Electoral Fairness than Election Winners

Democracy requires the losers of an election to accept their defeat to ensure a peaceful transition of power. However, we know little about how losing affects candidates’ perceptions of the election. Using a regression discontinuity design and survey responses from hundreds of candidates in a country-wide election in Denmark—one of the most robust democracies in the world—we find that candidates who fail to win a seat are more concerned about electoral fairness than election winners. The corresponding effect of losing is 0.46 (95% CI: 0.10, 0.82) points using a five-point electoral fairness index or 0.6 SD. Our findings have important implications because they suggest that the core democratic institution of elections may paradoxically fuel discontent with democracy among the people who are supposed to be its strongest advocates.