Rushed Decisions: Political Talk Radio and Vote Choice, 1994-1996

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between listening to conservative talk radio, as personified in the Rush Limbaugh Show, and voting for Republican candidates in the 1994-1996 congressional and presidential elections. I use a series of logistic regressions to test the relationship between listening and vote choice in House, Senate, and gubernatorial elections in 1994, relying on cross-sectional ANES data. I then capitalize on 1994-96 ANES panel data to explore the degree to which changes in vote choice between 1994 and 1996 can be accounted for by listening to Limbaugh. Results suggest that listening to Limbaugh may have substantially increased voter preference for Republican candidates. Exploration of this relationship serves to enhance understanding of the means by which political persuasion occurs, and the conditions under which mass media influence electoral behavior.