Municipal elections and community media

Abstract

Local elections are held more often and more frequently than any other type in American politics and are more often the first stepping stone to higher election office. But the “lost world” of municipal governments still remains lost because of political scientists’ and media scholars’ preoccupation with national voting behavior and presidential “personality” contests. Fifty-nine mayoral elections from 1986 to 1998 in 15 rural New Mexico communities without TV stations are examined. When the powerful incumbency variable is eliminated, community journalism’s influence is positively correlated via newspaper endorsement and local radio advertising in predicting winners of local elections. This study also operationalizes from scientific measurement 19 other independent variables that have been identified in predicting the winners of municipal races.