Change: How Young Voters Interpreted the Messages Sent During the 2008 Presidential Election Season

Abstract

Change became the mantra of the 2008 presidential campaign. During the primaries, Senators Clinton, McCain and Obama, as well as Governor Huckabee, all used the idea of change as part of their campaign rhetoric. During the general election campaign, both Obama and McCain continued using change as their slogan. This study sought to determine what the youth vote believed that change meant, both in an overall sense and as attributed to each of the candidates. The data for Study 1 were conducted before the March 4, 2008, primary, and the data for Study 2 were collected in October 2008. In Study 1, 784 undergraduates from six states and nine colleges and universities participated. In Study 2, there were 260 undergraduates who participated. The findings in both studies reveal that the candidates were effective in their use of the word change , as the respondents were able to differentiate between the different campaign messages. Analysis of the open-ended data found several overall categories of change, and subsequent analysis found that these categories were more relevant to certain demographics than others. A discussion of the findings as well as ideas for future research is discussed.