Demographics & Targeting
Understanding voter demographics is key to winning elections. Each state has a unique demographic profile that determines which candidates appeal to which voters.
Note on the live model: the electorate that actually casts votes is a granular Layer-1 census lattice, not the 12 archetypes below, see Granular Electorate (as shipped). The archetypes are legacy authoring vocabulary that gameplay effects (approvals, legislation, GOTV) are still keyed by; they project onto the real cell-based electorate via archetypeBucketMap.ts rather than having independent vote logic. The targeting concepts below (appeal, reach, turnout) still apply, they just resolve against cells now.
Demographic Groups#
The game's legacy authoring vocabulary is 12 voter archetypes, each with distinct policy leans:
| Group | Economic Lean | Social Lean |
|---|---|---|
| College Liberals | -5 (far left) | -5 (far left) |
| Evangelicals | +4 (right) | +5 (far right) |
| Rural Traditionalists | +4 (right) | +4 (right) |
| Libertarians | +5 (far right) | +2 (center-right) |
| Young Renters | -4 (left) | -4 (left) |
| Small Business | +4 (right) | +2 (center-right) |
| Secular Professionals | -3 (center-left) | -4 (left) |
| Union & Trades | -3 (center-left) | +1 (center) |
| Public Sector | -3 (center-left) | -2 (center-left) |
| New Americans | -2 (center-left) | -1 (center) |
| Retirees | +2 (center-right) | +3 (center-right) |
| Soccer Moms | varies by state | varies by state |
How Demographics Affect Elections#
- Reach, Your Political Influence determines how many voters you can reach
- Appeal, Policy alignment between your positions and each group's leans
- Turnout, Each group has a baseline turnout rate modified by canvassing and GOTV
- Vote share, Groups where you have high appeal and they have high turnout give you more votes
Turnout System#
Each demographic group has a turnout modifier (-20% to +20%):
- Decay, All modifiers decay 2% per turn toward baseline
- Party GOTV, Your party passively boosts aligned demographics
- Player canvassing, Campaign action to boost specific demographics
- Campaign season, Canvassing effectiveness doubles 4 turns before election
- Diminishing returns, Larger existing modifiers receive smaller boosts
Ideology-Modulated Leans#
Some groups (Retirees, Soccer Moms, Union & Trades, Rural Traditionalists) shift their leans based on state ideology composition. A conservative state will push these groups further right; a progressive state pushes them left.
Targeting Strategy#
- Know your state, Use the Poll action to see your appeal breakdown
- Play to strengths, Campaign in demographics close to your positions (higher appeal multiplier)
- Shore up weaknesses, Ads can boost favorability in demographics where you're weak
- Watch turnout, A demographic that loves you but doesn't vote is worthless
State Political Lean#
State lean is a turnout-weighted average of all group leans. The display thresholds:
- Very Left / Left / Center / Right / Very Right
- Center boundary: +/-0.2, Very boundary: +/-0.6
Related Pages#
- Demographics, Full demographic system details
- Campaign Strategy, Action allocation and timing
- Election Mechanics, How votes are counted