Congressional Challengers: Candidate Quality in Us Elections to Congress by Costas Panagopoulos

Author:Costas Panagopoulos [Panagopoulos, Costas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781138057876
Google: ZWtPEAAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 42985897
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2021-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Findings: Comparison of Means

Figure 5.1 displays the findings of the comparison of means by candidate status. Bars in each row indicate the percent of total ads aired by candidates of similar status that were characterized by the specific attribute. Difference of means statistics (t-test) reveal that all differences across categories for all attributes are significant at conventional levels (p < 0.05) unless otherwise indicated.

FIGURE 5.1 Comparison of Means by Candidate Status for each Ad Attribute

Figure 5.1 reveals that the tone of ads does vary by candidate status, as shown by the color of bars. Incumbents broadcast primarily promotional ads (67% of total, versus 11% attack ads and 19% contrast ads). Only 43% of experienced challenger’s ads are promotional, however (19% are attack ads and 33% are contrast). Inexperienced challengers run equal shares of promotional and attack ads (35% of total each), however, relative to high-quality challengers, inexperienced challengers broadcast a smaller share of promotional ads and a substantially larger share of attack ads against incumbents than high-quality challengers do.

Figure 5.1 also examines the styles employed by different candidate types in campaign ads. Each ad was evaluated to determine whether candidates used certain adjectives to describe themselves or their opponent in the ads. Figure 5.1 reveals that incumbents portray themselves as “honest” in 3% of their ads, while 2% of experienced challengers’ ads present the candidate as honest, and a negligible percent of inexperienced challengers’ ads do the same. A greater proportion of incumbents’ ads describe them as “competent” (7% of total), while 5% of experienced challengers’ ads and 1% of inexperienced challengers’ ads use this adjective. Nearly one-tenth (9%) of inexperienced challengers’ ads portray them as “protectors,” compared to 4% of incumbents’ ads and 6% of experienced challengers’ ads. Over one-in-five (21%) experienced challengers’ ads characterize them as “tough” (20% of incumbents’ ads do the same) compared with only one-in-ten inexperienced challengers’ ads.

Figure 5.1 also indicates differences in adjectives candidates use to describe opponents by candidate type. Fewer incumbent ads characterize challengers as “dishonest or corrupt” (7%), compared to 11% of high-quality challengers’ ads and 16% of low-quality challengers’ ads. Incumbents also describe challengers as “taxing” substantially less frequently (3% of all incumbent ads) than inexperienced challengers (12%) (1% of experienced challengers’ ads present incumbents as “taxing”). Inexperienced challengers also describe their opponents as “friends of special interests” (4%) and “liberal” (9%) more often than experienced incumbents. By contrast, incumbents characterize their opponents as “incompetent” in 3% of their ads, while neither category of challengers appears to describe incumbents as such.

Moving on to the substance of ad content, Figure 5.1 shows that most of all candidates’ ads focus on policy matters rather than personal characteristics (62% of incumbents’ ads, 65% of experienced challengers, and 63% of inexperienced challengers’ ads.) Inexperienced challengers run far more ads that focus on personal qualities (15% of total) compared to experienced challengers (8%). Twelve percent of incumbents’ ads focus on personal characteristics.

To examine the general campaign theme candidates emphasized in their ads, I divided each specific policy into six categories.

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