Campaign Spending Effects in U.S. Senate Elections: Evidence from the National Annenberg Election Survey

In: Electoral Studies, Band 25, Heft 2, S. 195-226

Abstract

The National Annenberg Election Survey of 2000 offers a fresh perspective on central issues in the long-standing debate about impact of campaign spending by congressional challengers & incumbents. Examination of changes over time & across panel waves in knowledge & evaluations of Senate candidates & in consequent voting intentions strongly confirms the efficacy of challengers' expenditures. Challengers gained support over time in direct proportion to their level of spending. Incumbents adjusted their level of spending to that of their challengers, & their levels of familiarity & favorability increased over time, but to a degree unrelated to how much they spent. Their expenditures did not appear to offset the effects produced by challengers' spending. Tables, Figures, Appendixes, References. [Copyright 2005 Elsevier Ltd.]