News Coverage of Negative Political Campaigns

Abstract

The present experiment examines the effects of negative campaigns on voting participation and preference over which previous studies have provided inconsistent findings. This study focuses on the impact of negative campaigns covered in the news rather than those delivered in political advertising. Findings do not support an across-the-board “negativity-demobilization” hypothesis but demonstrate that the focus of campaign (i.e., policy-versus personality-focused) moderates the impact of campaign attacks on the likelihood of turning out to vote. While policy-based attacks covered in the news slightly stimulate voter turnout, personality attacks significantly depress one’s participatory intention. The data also indicate that negative strategies generally do not benefit the sponsoring candidates, and it is even more so when attacks concern personal matters. In general, voters appear to prefer a policy-appealing candidate over a personality-appealing one.