Mutual Party Extremism

With four political candidates competing first in two primaries and then in a general election, even a modestly polarized electorate can sustain (in equilibrium) much more extremist candidates.However, a party can sustain extremism only if the other side is extreme, too.A small moderation of one side's voting electorate can trigger a discontinuous collapse of candidate extremism on both sides -a "moderation export" effect.The converse is also true: minute increases in voter polarization on the more moderate side can trigger radical candidate extremism on both sides.Principled candidates can destroy party electability.Distance-related voter abstention favors extremism.