Department
School of Communication and Media
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-3-2024
Embargo Period
7-9-2025
Abstract
This study expands previous research on political endorsements by focusing on the tone of the endorsement, rather than the endorser or the presence/absence of any endorsement at all. Using a 2×2 experimental design and a sample of 906 registered voters from a midwestern U.S. state, this study measures the effect of positive and negative endorsements on the voter perceptions of the endorsee, endorser, and unendorsed candidate during a partisan primary election campaign. Results support the idea that positive endorsements generally improve voters’ attitudes toward the endorsee and the endorser and negative endorsements generally hurt voters’ perception of the unendorsed candidate. Further interaction analyses show that factors such as a voter’s existing enthusiasm for politics, government, and politicians can moderate the effect of endorsements. The findings are in line with the proposition of the Social Judgment Theory and support the existing literature on the effect of endorsements.
Journal Title
Frontiers in Political Science
Journal ISSN
2673-3145
Volume
6
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.3389/fpos.2024.1363974
Comments
This article received funding through Kennesaw State University's Faculty Open Access Publishing Fund, supported by the KSU Library System and KSU Office of Research.