Political Campaigns and Open-Minded Thinking

Abstract

This article argues that campaigns do more than shape the electoral choices that citizens make. Campaigns also encourage citizens to engage in open-minded thinking. Analyses of the Senate Election Study show that intense campaigns chip away at pro-incumbent biases, motivating citizens to acknowledge pros and cons regarding the candidates. These gains in open-minded thinking appear among both more- and less-educated citizens. Intense campaigns provide citizens with the motivation to engage in open-minded thinking regarding candidates for public office. As such, electoral campaigns, as recurring national and subnational conversations about politics, can fulfill an important social function by pulling citizens into open-minded thinking.