Abstract
Using data from the 1988 Senate Election Study conducted by the Center for Political Studies at the University of Michigan, this article examines the impact of three types of national issues on voting for presidential, Senate, and House candidates: restrospective issues, prospective issues, and symbolic liberalism. Voters' evaluations of Ronald Reagan and symbolic liberalism had strong effects on the presidential vote but little impact on voting for Senate or House candidates. In Senate contests featuring clear ideological differences between the candidates, however, attitudes toward spending priorities had a substantial impact on voting decisions. Unlike Michael Dukakis, liberal Democractic senators such as Howard Metzenbaum of Ohio and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey were able to define the issues of the campaign on their terms: government spending rather than crime, patriotism, and Ronald Reagan.
Published Version
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