Campaign Advertising Tone and Individual Voter Behavior in Judicial Elections

The increased use of campaign advertising in judicial elections since Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, 536 U.S. 765 (2002), has attracted a considerable amount criticism. Opponents of campaign advertising in judicial elections point to anecdotal examples of negative advertising that are inaccurate and have misled voters with their presentations of the facts. Meanwhile, scholars studying judicial elections have performed aggregate-level analyses of the campaign advertising environment and judicial elections outcomes and have concluded that the arguments of the critics are unfounded. However, the critics remain unconvinced and debate continues. This study adds to the debate on campaign advertising in judicial elections by exposing 652 college undergraduates to two versions of the same ad, manipulated to alter the tone between positive and negative. A post-viewing questionnaire was administered to evaluate the effects of the campaign advertisement�s tone on measures of individual voter behavior. The results of this study suggests that negative campaign advertising is not without its merits, but can be used for good or ill.Political Scienc