Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR
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Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR
Issue Engagement on Congressional Candidate Websites (2002-2006)James N. Druckman Northwestern University druckman@northwestern.ediiCan Lynn Hennessy Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR Northwestern University cari.hennessy@ii.northwestern.eduMartin J. Kifer Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. mkifer@mathematica-mpr.comMichael Parkin Oberlin CollegeMichael.Parkiii@pbeiiiii.edu39892Abstract: When candidates engage in robust policy debate, it gives citizens clear choices on issues tha Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCRt matter. Previous studies of issue engagement have primarily used indicators of campaign strategy that are mediated by reporters (e.g. newspaper artiDruckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR
cles) or indicators that may exclude candidates in less competitive races (e.g. television advertisements). We study issue engagement with data from aIssue Engagement on Congressional Candidate Websites (2002-2006)James N. Druckman Northwestern University druckman@northwestern.ediiCan Lynn Hennessy Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR of issues in public opinion is a primary determinant of candidate engagement. And. despite the unique capacity of the internet to allow candidates to explain their positions on a large number of issues, candidates continue to behave strategically, selecting a few issues on which to engage their adv Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCRersaries.Key Words: issue engagement, candidate websites, internet, congressional campaignsAuthors’ note: The authors’ names are listed in alphabeticaDruckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR
l order. The authors would also like to acknowledge Jason Seawright’s contribution in suggesting and making extensive recommendations concerning the sIssue Engagement on Congressional Candidate Websites (2002-2006)James N. Druckman Northwestern University druckman@northwestern.ediiCan Lynn Hennessy Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR. Democratic theory suggests that, ideally, elections ought to feature engaged citizens as well as candidates who debate policy questions, providing voters with clear and distinct choices on consequential issues. In the words of one prominent scholar, democracies ought to have elections “in which co Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCRmpeting leaders and organizations define the alternatives of public policy in such a way that the public can participate in the decision-making procesDruckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR
s" (Schattschneider 1960: 138). When candidates do not engage in direct policy debate, they deprive voters of critical information which may keep themIssue Engagement on Congressional Candidate Websites (2002-2006)James N. Druckman Northwestern University druckman@northwestern.ediiCan Lynn Hennessy Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCRof the factors that keep candidates from engaging each other in policy debate is currently limited. First, past efforts to explain issue engagement have generally been constrained by a lack of ideal data. Most studies have relied on data from television ads and/or newspaper accounts which, as we wil Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCRl discuss below, are neither fully representative nor provide a complete picture of the campaign’s message. Second, although the rise of the internetDruckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR
has generated broad discussion about the role it plays in electoral politics, relatively little consideration has been given to how this new medium maIssue Engagement on Congressional Candidate Websites (2002-2006)James N. Druckman Northwestern University druckman@northwestern.ediiCan Lynn Hennessy Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCRs some knowledge of how candidates are using this important new venue to discuss important policy matters.11 We generally refer to this concept as “issue engagement” to highlight the extent to which candidates make strategic choices to directly address (or avoid) the same Issues as their opponents. Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCROther authors refer to “Issue convergence" (Sigelman and Buell 2004. Kaplan. Park and Ridout 2006) and “issue dialogue" (Simon 2003).1We seek to addreDruckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR
ss these limitations by exploring patterns ol issue engagement between congressional candidates on their campaign websites. Using data from more than Issue Engagement on Congressional Candidate Websites (2002-2006)James N. Druckman Northwestern University druckman@northwestern.ediiCan Lynn Hennessy Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCRotivations for convergence on particular topics. We believe that our approach not only provides insight into how candidates use the internet for policy debate, it also helps to overcome some of the measurement issues that have hampered past efforts lo explain issue engagement more generally.We start Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR in the next section with a discussion of the factors that may drive candidates into policy exchanges. We then detail the advantages of using candidatDruckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR
e websites to study issue engagement, before presenting our data. Our analysis begins with simulations and descriptive statistics aimed at determiningIssue Engagement on Congressional Candidate Websites (2002-2006)James N. Druckman Northwestern University druckman@northwestern.ediiCan Lynn Hennessy Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCRefore testing additional hypotheses about the race- and district-level motivations for entering into direct policy dialogue. We find that online issue engagement is largely a function of issue saliency in that engagement is most robust on issues deemed most important by the public. However, candidat Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCRes also show some small signs of more strategic behavior by being more hesitant to engage on issues that offer them little advantage. We conclude withDruckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR
a brief discussion of implications and recommendations for future research.issue EngagementAbundant empirical evidence confirms that candidates car eIssue Engagement on Congressional Candidate Websites (2002-2006)James N. Druckman Northwestern University druckman@northwestern.ediiCan Lynn Hennessy Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCRition taking (e.g.. Page 1978, Franklin 1991, Simon 2002), negativity (e.g., Lau and Rovner 2009, Kahn and Kenney 2004) and issue ownership (e.g., Petrocik 1996, Damore 2004, Holian 2004). As noted above, there has also been some work on the extent to which candidates mention the same issues on the Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCRcampaign trail (see, e.g., Simon 2002, Sigelman and Buell 2004, Damore 2005, Sides 2006, Kaplan et al. 2006, Benoit 2007).This and other work on campaDruckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR
ign behavior clearly shows that candidates are strategic actors focused on gaining voters’ support. While some early literature suggested that few votIssue Engagement on Congressional Candidate Websites (2002-2006)James N. Druckman Northwestern University druckman@northwestern.ediiCan Lynn Hennessy Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCRly influence voters’ decisions (e.g., Enelow and Hinich 1984, Bartels 1986, Krosnick and Berent 1993, Alvarez 1997). What candidates say about issues can affect voters directly (i.e., through persuasion) or indirectly by priming certain issues and thus altering the basis of voters’ evaluations (see, Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR e.g., Miller and Krosnick 1996, Druckman, Jacobs, and Ostermeier 2004). The potential to win (or lose) votes can encourage candidates to be quite calDruckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR
culating when it comes to the issues they discuss on the campaign trail. Unfortunately, this careful consideration can lead candidates to talk past onIssue Engagement on Congressional Candidate Websites (2002-2006)James N. Druckman Northwestern University druckman@northwestern.ediiCan Lynn Hennessy Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR studies have provided some insight into the factors that determine the extent of issue engagement between candidates. This work has, however, yet to fully appreciate the internet’s potential to possibly facilitate greater issue engagement by altering how-candidates think about presenting their poli Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCRcy positions. Candidates may be generally3less restrictive online given that, unlike other forms of paid advertising (e.g., television ads, radio ads,Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR
mailers), their websites provide virtually limitless space to present issue details - candidates can easily discuss ever}' possible issue on their weIssue Engagement on Congressional Candidate Websites (2002-2006)James N. Druckman Northwestern University druckman@northwestern.ediiCan Lynn Hennessy Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCRsues knowing that their sites are most often visited by engaged voters seeking detailed information (Institute for Policy, Democracy, and the Internet 2000, Bimber and Davis 2003) and/or supporters who are preconditioned to agree with the candidate’s positions (Stromer-Galley, Howard, Schneider and Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCRFoot 2003, Druckman, Kifer and Parkin 2009). These factors could motivate increased issue engagement with both candidates providing a near complete liDruckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR
st of all policy positions. This would have the benefit of potentially bolstering civic engagement by providing interested website visitors with a cleIssue Engagement on Congressional Candidate Websites (2002-2006)James N. Druckman Northwestern University druckman@northwestern.ediiCan Lynn Hennessy Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR pressing incentives. The first political consideration concerns the perceived saliency of an issue. At any given time, there will be issues that the public sees as particularly important to address. Candidates know that voters are likely to punish them at the polls if they do not give some attentio Druckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCRn to the issues that are on the public’s mind (see. e.g., Ansolabehere and Iyengar 1994, Sides 2006). Therefore, we would expect engagement to be highDruckman Hennessy Kifer Parkin SSCR
est on issues that the public deems most salient. Less salient issues provide candidates with an opportunity to avoid engagement if there is some otheGọi ngay
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