Abstract

A majority of Republicans question the legitimacy of the 2020 U.S. presidential election – a proportion that poses a risk to U.S. democracy. Action is necessary, but scholarship has primarily focused on extreme beliefs. Scholars should draw from cultural sociology to explore what people mean when they indicate belief in an election conspiracy theory and how these meanings may vary. With this in mind, we interviewed U.S. conservatives that varied in the strength of their election conspiracy theory beliefs. We found that many participants were uncertain about whether there was an election conspiracy, participants identified issues outside of the electoral process as potential evidence, and participants’ responses indicated that their beliefs may be influenced by a deep story of distrust towards Democrats. Our findings demonstrate how cultural sociology methods strengthen our understanding of conspiracy theory believers and suggest that it may be difficult to reduce election conspiracy theory beliefs unless such efforts address this distrust.