Wedge Issues in Presidential Campaigns -- The Reciprocal Campaign -- Measuring the Persuadable Partisan -- Capturing Campaign Persuasion -- A Case Study of the Reciprocal Campaign -- Candidate Strategy in the 2004 Campaign -- Conclusions Consequences for Democratic Governance -- Question Wording and Coding -- Content Analysis Coding -- Statistical Results -- Bibliography -- Index
Summary
The use of wedge issues such as abortion, gay marriage, and immigration has become standard political strategy in contemporary presidential campaigns. Why do candidates use such divisive appeals? Who in the electorate is persuaded by these controversial issues? And what are the consequences for American democracy? In this provocative and engaging analysis of presidential campaigns, Sunshine Hillygus and Todd Shields identify the types of citizens responsive to campaign information, the reasons they are responsive, and the tactics candidates use to sway these pivotal voters. The Persuadable Vot
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-235) and index