Issue Consistency? Comparing Television Advertising, Tweets, and E-mail in the 2014 Senate Campaigns

Abstract

This research explores the extent to which campaigns are consistent across communications channels in the issues that they emphasize. We compare the issue agendas in candidates’ television advertising, tweets and emails from dozens of U.S. Senate races in 2014, creating a measure of issue convergence for each candidate. We find moderate levels of issue consistency, though issue agendas match more strongly for television ads and Twitter, two channels that speak to a more general audience. Our findings speak to the ability of campaigns to foster a common understanding of issue priorities among the public and the ability of voters to hold candidates accountable for their promises once in office.