Bases loaded: how US presidential campaigns are changing and why it matters
In: Oxford scholarship online
In: Political Science
'Bases Loaded' documents the shift away from persuasion toward base mobilization in the context of US presidential elections. Panagapoulos explains that this phenomenon is likely linked to several developments, including advances in campaign technology and voter targeting capabilities as well as insights from behavioural social science focusing on voter mobilization. The analyses show the 2000 presidential election represents a watershed cycle that punctuated this shift. The text concludes that these patterns have contributed to heightened partisan polarization in the United States.