Beth L. Fossen, author at The Pulse

Spending on political advertising sets records in midterm elections. But evidence shows that negative messaging could completely discourage voters from voting.

As the 2022 midterm elections draw closer, political attacks in campaign ads are on the rise.

In November, Representative Paul Gosar shared a cartoon video showing him physically attacking Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat, and President Joe Biden.

That same month, Rep. Ilhan Omar called fellow Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert. a jester and a bigot on Twitter. Even the official White House Twitter account got involved in the politically divisive action, making recent headlines when he returned in August 2022 to several Republican members of Congress who criticized the Paycheck Protection Program – after having themselves canceled their loans.

The incivil messages of politicians have are becoming more and more common in the last decade. Political attacks are now commonplace in an increasingly polarized political environment, encourage voters to get angry and plan to vote before election day in November.

But that doesn’t mean that these types of ads and personal attacks actually work.

I study political marketing and, as a former campaign manager and political consultant, I have seen politicians directly employ uncivil strategies in hopes of getting elected. My research on political advertising suggests that highly polarized communications could lose their persuasive power and may even backfire in future midterms, hurting a candidate’s chances.

The Impacts of Political Attack Ads

My research shows that political ads and language do indeed put people in a negative mood. Even by simply asking voters to thinking about politics enough to make them angry. This negativity is amplified if an advertisement specifically attack an opposing candidate. Read more