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Are these men sniffing? (REUTERS/Jim Bourg)

We have long known that liberals are more likely to choose other liberals as romantic partners and that conservatives alsotend to prefermates with similar political viewpoints. Indeed, other than religion, ideology is a strongercorrelate than other traits in the selection of long-term partners. But how does this work?

A new article in the American Journal of Political Science by Rose McDermott (Brown), Dustin Tingley (Harvard), and Peter Hatemi (Penn State)suggests that the explanation could be that liberals and conservatives smell differently and that each prefers the smell of ideologically similar persons. That body odor influences attractionis well-established. The authors argue that smell signals alsoserve other functions, such asdisease avoidance, cheater detection, defense against outgroups,and social cohesion. These may be related to political ideology. For example, they note:

[..] greater disgust sensitivity, which is intimately interconnected with the neural substrates of smell, predicts more conservative positions, particularly around issues involving morality and sexual reproduction. These underlying, physically experienced predilections can come to be expressed as opinions on such topics as abortion, homosexuality, gay marriage, and a host of other ideological topics

They then claim:

If social attitudes are linked to odor[..]then one mechanism that odor preferencestransfer from parents to children may operate throughtheir mothers choice of mate. In this way, social processesmay drive some of the pathways by which individualscome to prefer those whose ideological smellmatches their own.

The researchers askeda group of ideologically diverse people to rate the body scent of both liberals and conservatives (without seeing them in person). On average, ideologically similar people appreciated the scent of similarly disposed people more. So, scent could be a way in which we subconsciously select mates of similar dispositions.

Before the more creative among us go outand create perfumes for liberals and conservatives, I should note that the effect is very small and teeters on the edge of what we would normally call statistically significant. That is: we are not as certain as we would ideally like to be that the finding isnt a consequence of mere chance. There are probably other more important mechanisms that produce sorting on ideology than smell. Still, its an innovative new study on the link between biology and politics.

Erik Voeten is the Peter F. Krogh Associate Professor of Geopolitics and Justice in World Affairs at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and the Department of Government.

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Monkey Cage: Liberals smell better to other liberals than to conservatives

The federal Liberals are riding a wave of popularity, according to a new Nanos poll, with the party showing gains in B.C., Quebec and among Canadians over 60 years of age.

According to results of the weekly Nanos Party Power Index, 58.5 per cent of Canadians would consider voting for the Liberals, which is a 12-month high for the party. The NDP is in second place with 45.1 per cent, while the Conservatives have 40.2 per cent and 27.8 per cent would consider voting for the Green Party.

The Liberals also gained strength on the Canada Party Power Index, which considers first and second vote preferences; whether the respondent would consider voting for the party; first and second preferences for prime minister; and whether the respondent believes the current leader has the quality to be a good leader.

This week, the Liberals stand at 59.1 points out of 100, which is a new 12-month high, followed by the Conservatives at 48.4 points, the NDP at 47.6 points, and the Green Party at 30.7 points.

Nik Nanos, president of Nanos Research, said it was a good summer for Trudeau.

He has cruised through the barbecue circuit and is trending up, even though he hasnt put a lot in the window on the public policy front, Nanos said on CTVs Power Play.

When asked about preferred prime minister, 34 per cent of those surveyed said Justin Trudeau is their preferred choice for Canadas next prime minister, which is a 12-month high for the Liberal leader.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is trailing behind with 27.7 per cent of support, while NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair is at 16.9 per cent, and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May holds 4.8 per cent.

But despite it being pretty clear that Canadians are favouring Trudeau, Nanos said those numbers could change closer to election time.

The reality is, when you dont put out platform ideas, there is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- to repel voters, he said. In a way, this is almost an artificial honeymoon. Harper is basically shadowboxing with Justin Trudeau, theres no policies or platform for him to take a punch at.

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Liberal strength climbs in all measures of Nanos power index

The federal Liberals are riding a wave of popularity, according to a new Nanos poll, with the party showing gains in B.C., Quebec and among Canadians over 60 years of age.

According to results of the weekly Nanos Party Power Index, 58.5 per cent of Canadians would consider voting for the Liberals, which is a 12-month high for the party. The NDP is in second place with 45.1 per cent, while the Conservatives have 40.2 per cent and 27.8 per cent would consider voting for the Green Party.

The Liberals also gained strength on the Canada Party Power Index, which considers first and second vote preferences; whether the respondent would consider voting for the party; first and second preferences for prime minister; and whether the respondent believes the current leader has the quality to be a good leader.

This week, the Liberals stand at 59.1 points out of 100, which is a new 12-month high, followed by the Conservatives at 48.4 points, the NDP at 47.6 points, and the Green Party at 30.7 points.

Nik Nanos, president of Nanos Research, said it was a good summer for Trudeau.

He has cruised through the barbecue circuit and is trending up, even though he hasnt put a lot in the window on the public policy front, Nanos said on CTVs Power Play.

When asked about preferred prime minister, 34 per cent of those surveyed said Justin Trudeau is their preferred choice for Canadas next prime minister, which is a 12-month high for the Liberal leader.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is trailing behind with 27.7 per cent of support, while NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair is at 16.9 per cent, and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May holds 4.8 per cent.

But despite it being pretty clear that Canadians are favouring Trudeau, Nanos said those numbers could change closer to election time.

The reality is, when you dont put out platform ideas, there is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- to repel voters, he said. In a way, this is almost an artificial honeymoon. Harper is basically shadowboxing with Justin Trudeau, theres no policies or platform for him to take a punch at.

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Liberal support climbs in all measures of Nanos power index

CTV Montreal Published Wednesday, September 17, 2014 12:55PM EDT Last Updated Wednesday, September 17, 2014 1:24PM EDT

The provincial government is working on what it calls a 'moderate' version of the Charter of Values.

Premier Couillard said the Liberals would present a bill early on in their mandate, and Justice Minister Stephanie Vallee said she expects to introduce legislation this autumn.

Vallee said her government has learned a few lessons from the Parti Quebecois and its hotly-debated charter project, and will ensure that anything which is introduced will not violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"Let's not forget the intervention made by the Commission des droits de la personne et de la jeunesse [Quebec Human Rights Commission] last year and the [Quebec] bar and all these people that had important things to say," said Vallee. "We're taking it into account."

Vallee said her legislation would allow all religious symbols but place limits on the burka, and the niqab, which cover a woman's face, and the chador, a long veil which covers the hair and arms and is seen as a symbol of religious oppression.

In 2010 the then-Liberal government introduced Bill 94, which introduced similar restrictions, but was never adopted.

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Quebec Liberals working on 'moderate' Charter of Values

Conservatives and liberals do not smell the same to potential mates. According to a study published this month in the American Journal of Political Science, people can literally sniff out ideology and this may explain why so many couples share political beliefs. Or, as the studys title says, Assortative Mating on Ideology Could Operate Through Olfactory Cues.

Researchers led by Brown University political scientist Rose McDermott found that, to a small but significant degree, people prefer the body odor of those who vote asthey do.

Previous studies showed long-term mates are more similar when it comes to politics than anything else besides religion. Researchersset out to determine whether this is a purely socially driven phenomenon, or whetherbiology plays a role.

To test the link between smell and party affiliation, researchers rounded up 146 people aged 18 to 40 from a large city in the northeast United States. They used a seven-point scale to determine where they fell on the political spectrum. They sent 21 of these 10 liberals and 11 conservatives home with fragrance-free soap and shampoo and a gauze pad taped to their armpit. The subjects were told not to smoke, drink, use deodorant or perfume, have sex, eat fragrant foods, sleep with people or pets or linger near strong odors.

They returned the stinky armpit pads 24 hours later. Then 125 participants sniffed the stinky pads, taking a break between whiffs to cleanse their nasal palate with the aroma of peppermint oil. The sniffers, who never saw the people whose smells they were evaluating, then rated the attractiveness of each armpit sample on a 1 to 5 scale.

The subjects found the smell of those more ideologically similar to themselves more attractive than those with opposing views.

It appears nature stacks the deck to make politically similar partners more attractive to each other in unconscious ways, the researchers wrote.

Evolution might explain it. Parental similarity in values increases the likelihood that such individuals may be able to say together long enough to raise their children successfully into adulthood, the researchers wrote.

Or, in other words, youre more likely to raise children with someone you agree with than someone you dont. And smell tips you off on your chances of long-term relationship success.

The link between smell and political preference may also be related to how parents transfer their preferences for certain smells to their children. Humans, including mothers, spend most of their time around ideologically similar others, the researcherswrote. If social attitudes are linked to odor, as the literature suggests, then one mechanism that odor preferences transfer from parents to children may operate through their mothers choice of mate.In this way, social processes may drive some of the pathways by which individuals come to prefer those whose ideological smell matches their own.

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Study: Liberals and conservatives sniff out like-minded mates by body odor