“Are you better off than you were before the last election?” It’s a classic question for voters, and one that politicians often build campaigns around. However, new research from Cornell University suggests that voters—especially those from the same political party as the incumbent—should not just look at results. They also care about what politicians are trying to do, sometimes even more than the outcomes they deliver.

The researchers ran experiments with over 3,000 participants to see how voters judge politicians. They found that voters are more forgiving of bad outcomes if they believe the politician made an effort to improve things. This leniency is strongest when the politician is from the same party. However, voters are tougher on politicians from the opposing party, focusing more on whether they delivered benefits than on their intentions.

Making the choice

To test these ideas, the researchers designed online games where participants played either voters or politicians. Politicians choose between “good” policies that would benefit voters and “bad” policies that wouldn’t. Voters then decided whether to reelect the politician or choose a computer challenger, based on the results of the policies and, in some cases, the politician’s stated intentions.

The findings were clear. Politicians who delivered good results were 11 percentage points more likely to be reelected. But when voters knew the politician’s intentions, they were twice as likely to reward politicians who aimed to help, even if the results fell short.

In a second experiment, voters were asked to focus only on intentions and outcomes, without worrying about how the policies affected them personally. In this scenario, voters were 12.4 percentage points more likely to support politicians who delivered good outcomes. But good intentions had an even stronger effect, boosting support by nearly 50 percentage points.

Intentions matter

Why do intentions matter so much? The researchers think it comes down to human nature. In everyday life, we look for partners who try to work together and deliver benefits, even when things don’t always go as planned. The same logic seems to apply when we evaluate political leaders.

The researchers also explored how partisanship affects these judgments. In a third experiment, participants were assigned to political groups and asked to judge politicians from their own or the opposing party. While good outcomes were rewarded across the board, good intentions only helped politicians from the voter’s own party. For politicians from the opposing party, intentions made little difference.

For politicians, the message is clear: outcomes matter, but so do intentions. Incumbents should not only highlight their successes but also explain the efforts they made, even if those efforts didn’t always pay off. Voters, the researchers conclude, are willing to reward genuine effort—at least when it comes from their own side.

So, while asking “Are you better off?” is still important, politicians might also want to answer, “What did I try to do?” Sometimes, it’s the thought that counts.