Stories From the Trenches: The Difference Disability Makes in the Campaign Experiences of Candidates With Disabilities

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ABSTRACT Objective Persons with disabilities are a large and significant segment of the American public, yet Americans with disabilities are only beginning to be considered as political candidates or officeholders. Methods This paper reports on in‐depth interviews with 21 individuals with physical disabilities who have stood for office in recent election cycles. The interviews focused on candidates’ reasons for running, their campaign experiences, and how their disabilities affected their campaigns. Results Findings show multiple reasons for their candidacies while demonstrating similar obstacles as those faced by other “marginalized” groups. Respondents also reported surprisingly positive aspects of campaigning with a disability. Conclusion The work has implications for some tried‐and‐true political science concepts characterizing the situation of other under‐represented groups: descriptive and substantive representation, the importance of developing an eligible pool of potential candidates, and contextual factors showing the importance of variation as well as commonalities.

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