Why We Ask About Politics in PAC Research

By Chad Taylor, Head of Strategy & Planning

When we design market research for a PAC, one of the questions we include is about political party and ideology. And almost every time, someone asks: “What does this have to do with marketing our PAC?” Sometimes we’re told the question feels too personal or too political for an internal survey. And I understand the concern, especially in polarized times.

But the reason we ask that question has everything to do with strategy.

Understanding someone’s political ideology isn’t about putting them in a partisan box. It’s about understanding how they see the world. And that’s where the book, “The Righteous Mind,” by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, has helped connect the dots between moral psychology and the real-world challenges we face when trying to grow PAC engagement.

In “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion” (2012), Haidt challenges the idea that people form their moral beliefs through careful reasoning. Instead, he argues that moral judgments stem primarily from intuition — fast, automatic emotional responses — and that we use reasoning afterward to justify those gut reactions. This idea is known as the Social Intuitionist Model of moral judgment.

To explain it, Haidt uses a memorable metaphor: a person riding an elephant. In this image, the elephant represents our moral intuition — big, powerful, and hard to steer — while the rider represents our reasoning — small, rational, and trying to guide the elephant. The key point is that the rider isn’t in control; they’re mostly along for the ride, using logic and arguments to explain where the elephant is already going. In other words, we often believe we’re being rational, but we’re really just reasoning after the fact to support what we already feel is right or wrong.

In our world, that means your PAC messaging, no matter how factual or well-reasoned, may not land if it doesn't align with how your audience feels about the issue on a deeper moral level.

Haidt identifies six key moral foundations that people use to interpret the world:

• Care/Harm: compassion, empathy, protection

• Fairness/Cheating: justice, equality, proportionality

• Loyalty/Betrayal: group identity, patriotism

• Authority/Subversion: respect for hierarchy and rules

• Sanctity/Degradation: purity, sacredness, disgust

• Liberty/Oppression: resistance to domination

What’s both fascinating and immediately useful is that people on the left and right emphasize these foundations differently. Progressives focus heavily on care, fairness (as equality), and liberty from oppression. Conservatives tend to draw on a broader range, valuing not just care and fairness, but also loyalty, authority, and sanctity.

This is why understanding ideology matters. It tells you which moral buttons matter most to your audience and which ones might fall flat. Once you understand the moral lenses people use, you can begin to tailor messages that resonate with them emotionally, not just intellectually.

For example, when you're asking people to support a PAC, a progressive message might be: “Help protect working families from harmful legislation.” (Care + Fairness)

Whereas a conservative message for the same subject matter might be: “Stand with those who defend our freedoms and preserve our values.” (Loyalty + Authority + Sanctity)

It’s not about spin; it’s about speaking to the way your audience morally interprets the world. This is why we include questions about ideology in our surveys: so we can understand and map the moral terrain of your audience.

At Sagac, we often segment PAC audiences by demographics and giving history. But Haidt’s research suggests that moral psychographics, those deeper value frameworks, are just as important. If you know someone leans toward care/fairness values versus loyalty/sanctity values, you can write more effective emails, deliver more compelling content, and reduce resistance to PAC participation.

Here’s how Haidt’s work can shape your PAC strategy moving forward:

• Survey smarter: Use political ideology not just to classify, but to predict moral alignment.

• Message with values: Tailor appeals to the moral foundations your audience prioritizes.

• Frame strategically: Use “moral reframing” to make unfamiliar issues feel personally relevant.

• Avoid backfire: Know that challenging someone’s worldview directly often entrenches them further; subtle moral alignment works better.

As Haidt puts it: “Morality binds and blinds.” If your PAC message doesn’t speak your audience’s moral language, they won’t just ignore it; they may resist it.

We don’t all see the world the same way, and that’s okay. But as PAC leaders, we can be smarter and more strategic by meeting people in their moral language, not just expecting them to speak ours.