Do Negative Campaign Ads Work?
Do negative campaign ads work? In the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll, we tested the effectiveness of two of the earliest "comparative" ads run in the governor's race to see if they persuaded voters. Apparently so.
Republicans Kay Bailey Hutchison and Rick Perry were the first two candidates in the top race on the ballot to run negative spots. When our poll went into the field at the beginning of the month, Republican Debra Medina and Democrat Farouk Shami weren't running any negative commercials, and Democrat Bill White wasn't running any television spots yet at ...
Comments (3)
Gritsforbreakfast
"Do negative campaign ads work?"
Do bears s%@# in the woods?
dickson
Yeah, the fact that negative ads work isn't really "news." It would have been interesting to measure how these ads made viewers feel about voting for Bill White.
Vicente
Negative ads by all the candidates sickens me. I try no to see them because I would rather hear them in debates. Rick Perry hymned and hawed through the two debates he was in. KBH did poorly because she whined throughout both debates. Debra Medina was outstanding in both debates. All the spin both major camps put out cannot hide the fact that Medina trounced both. As a result Ms. Medina began to rise in the polls. No one was taking her seriously and she became more and more known across Texas. Her speeches reflect what many Texans want or need. We need to turn out these career politicians. Let's get new blood in Austin and Washington. Vote Debra Medina!