Advertising an Agenda? Examining the Consistency between Campaign Issue Emphasis and Presidential Issue Priorities, 1980-2001

Vanderbilt Undergraduate Research Journal ◽

10.15695/vurj.v3i0.2766 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

Author(s):

Christopher S. Randolph, Jr.

Keyword(s):

Presidential Candidates ◽

Campaign Messages ◽

Direct Communications ◽

Issue Emphasis

Presidential candidates often make issue appeals during their campaigns, but question exists as to whether the actions of presidents are consistent with their messages as candidates. Examining presidential documents and direct communications between candidates and voters allows an exploration of the degree to which presidential priorities reflect issues emphasized in campaigns. This analysis is followed by a discussion of the effects of electoral dynamics on the consistency between campaign messages and presidential agendas.

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Strategic issue emphasis in parties’ election campaign statements

Party Politics ◽

10.1177/1354068819864091 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 135406881986409 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Markus Baumann ◽

Marc Debus ◽

Martin Gross

Keyword(s):

Election Campaign ◽

Data Set ◽

Social Democratic ◽

Policy Issues ◽

Legislative Period ◽

Electoral Campaign ◽

Campaign Messages ◽

Strategic Issue ◽

Unemployment Policy ◽

Issue Emphasis

Parties should develop a consistent issue profile during an electoral campaign. Yet, manifestos, which form the baseline for a party’s programmatic goals in the upcoming legislative period, are usually published months before Election Day. We argue that parties must emphasize policy issues that are of key relevance to their likely voters in the last weeks of the election campaign, in which an increasing share of citizens make up their minds in terms of which party they will choose. To test this notion empirically, we draw on a novel data set that covers information on party representatives’ statements made during the final weeks of an election campaign in nine European countries. Focusing on the campaign messages of social democratic and socialist parties, we find that these parties indeed intensify their emphasis of unemployment policy, which is a salient issue for their core voter clienteles, particularly in times of economic hardship.

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