Does Negative Campaigning Produce Positive Results?
by Michael Sullivan A recent political mailer sent out in a Clark County Commission race has again inflamed the issue of negative campaigning. The brochure, mailed by the Service Trades Council of Southern Nevada against Commissioner Mary Kincaid, included graphic images of injured and sick children. It was done to illustrate Kincaid’s vote against building a county-funded children’s hospital. Kincaid called a press conference and the media did several stories on the fallout over the brochure. The Commissioner claimed the piece would backfire, gaining her support and sympathy. But political strategists have been utilizing these kinds of tactics successfully for years. Indeed, pundits who have closely followed Southern Nevada politics called the piece brutally effective. A survey in Campaigns and Elections magazine showed that while voters are wary of attack messages, an overwhelming majority would listen as long as the attack is deemed to be a fair representation of the candidate’s rec
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