Time of Decision and Media Use During the Ford-Carter Campaign

Abstract

This paper challenges the traditional belief that a full presidential political campaign can have only “limited effects” on voting, by identifying a group of voters who make their decisions during the campaign rather than either prior to or very late in the campaign. In a panel study of Wisconsin voters in the 1976 election, 40 percent were Campaign Deciders. These voters were low in partisanship, but paid close attention to the campaign and the Ford-Carter debates, and voted in accordance with campaign-specific perceptions. By contrast, both Pre-campaign Deciders and Last-minute Deciders voted mainly on the basis of party identification.