Exploring elites’ first political memories: A case study of presidential electors

• We examine presidential electors’ first political memories.
• Electors’ earliest political memories often involve national and electoral politics.
• Memories vary little based on age, partisanship and gender.
• Electors are united by the experience they share as political elites.

Political elites provide a unique perspective on political socialization. By examining these individuals’ experiences and viewpoints, scholars have an opportunity to evaluate methods to increase political engagement among the mass public. This paper undertakes such an exploration using a 2013 mail survey of Electoral College members, specifically considering responses to an open-ended question about electors’ first political memories, accounting for respondents’ age, partisanship, and gender. This study finds that elites’ earliest political memories often involve electoral—particularly presidential—politics and note these findings’ implications for political socialization scholars.