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Article
Introduction: Personality, party leaders, and election campaigns
Electoral Studies
  • Amanda Bittner, Memorial University
  • David A. M. Peterson, Iowa State University
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Accepted Manuscript
Publication Date
8-1-2018
DOI
10.1016/j.electstud.2018.04.005
Abstract

From the moment Donald Trump declared his candidacy in the run up to the 2016 American election, his personality was front and centre. Voters were prompted from the get-go to consider “trusting” his “strong leadership,” his “honesty,” and his business acumen. Unlike many presidential candidates who are career politicians, including governors, senators, or members of congress, Trump has none of this experience but does have a level of personal infamy that rivals some of the most notorious personalities—political or otherwise—in global history. Indeed, much of the content of his campaign was, strictly speaking, devoid of “real” policy discussion, and he chose instead to prey upon the emotions of voters while insulting the personalities of his opponents. His opponent, Hillary Clinton, magnified this by, in her advertising, focusing on Trump's character to the exclusion of issue appeals.

Comments

This is a manuscript of an article published as Bittner, Amanda, and David A.M. Peterson. "Introduction: Personality, party leaders, and election campaigns." Electoral Studies 54 (2018): 237-239. DOI: 10.1016/j.electstud.2018.04.005. Posted with permission.

Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International
Copyright Owner
Elsevier Ltd.
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Amanda Bittner and David A. M. Peterson. "Introduction: Personality, party leaders, and election campaigns" Electoral Studies Vol. 54 (2018) p. 237 - 239
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/david_peterson/8/