Abstract
It is common to think of presidential elections as long campaigns waged by two warring powers, each competing for the hearts-and-minds of American voters. Yet this metaphor masks considerable variation in how voters experience the campaign in the run-up-to Election Day. We focus on how the rise of candidate-centered campaigns in has created a situation in which some voters experience an avalanche of information from the campaigns and others hear next to nothing. We argue that when we carefully consider which voters should be most responsive to campaign information, that the pattern of segmentation that exists does not advance a nation-wide campaign about the health of American politics.
Recommended Citation
McClurg, Scott D. and Habel, Philip. "The Segmented Electorate: Presidential Campaigns and Their Consequences in an Information Age." (Summer 2010).