The Role of Partisanship in Forming Romantic College Relationships

Document Type

Presentation

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

People will base personal perceptions about others because of political beliefs. On another note, there are a lot of criteria for individuals when considering a romantic partner and it is important to understand party affiliation, voting behavior, and civic engagement's roles in personal relationships in the rising population of college students. The passion behind this study is for a Political Science Senior Thesis and Honors Capstone, the primary researcher is interested in Family Law and understanding the sociology of how politics and romantic relationships intersect. The population of Ohio Northern University is interesting due to being physically in a red county based on voting behavior, while simultaneously college is viewed as a left institution, and how this dichotomy impacts romantic relationships for the rising population of college students and even how they view relationships in general. The current population of college aged individuals, otherwise known as Generation Z, care about politics, consider politics when considering others for relationships, and want their partner's political beliefs to align strongly with their own. The hypothesis for this study is as follows: Partisanship is a driving force among college students when it comes to evaluating if someone will be a good romantic partner, though many will choose to have a partner that is very closely aligned with their own party affiliation, voting behavior, and political beliefs.

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