The race for the next Minnesota Governor is underway and has been for about awhile now. The election is over two months away, but the three candidates are already battling it out on TV with negative campaign ads and I'm already sick of it. Negative campaigning has long been a part of politics. This got me to thinking though, why do candidates use negative campaign ads, attacking the other person? Because they work.
Candidates use negative attacks because they work. By threatening voters, by making them anxious, afraid, and fearful, candidates can win elections.
A controversial attack ad now running in Minnesota comes from The Alliance for a Better Minnesota, an independent liberal group. The ad in question is called "Missed Votes" and it's here.
The ad claims that Tom Emmer has missed 142 votes (1 out of every 5 votes) in the state legislature in 2010, and compares it to missing one day of work each week. It's geared to target everyone, not just one party in particular party or its supporters. It aims to anger those who are working hard to keep their jobs by working more hours than usual and upset those who are unemployed, want to work and are looking for work. The ad threatens Minnesotans and makes them fearful of electing Tom Emmer as Governor because he may not do his job.
Threat and anxiety are powerful stuff in political campaigns, and recent research says that these negative emotions are strong predictors of candidate support and voting behavior. It has been found that candidates chosen are more likely to physically threaten the subjects actually lost 65% of the real elections (involving those same candidates).
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