The relationship between race competitiveness, standing in the polls, and social media communication strategies during the 2014 U.S. gubernatorial campaigns

Rossini, P. , Stromer-Galley, J., Kenski, K., Hemsley, J., Zhang, F. and Dobreski, B. (2018) The relationship between race competitiveness, standing in the polls, and social media communication strategies during the 2014 U.S. gubernatorial campaigns. Journal of Information Technology and Politics, 15(3), pp. 245-261. (doi: 10.1080/19331681.2018.1485606)

Abstract

Political campaigns have been systematically using social media for strategic advantage. However, little is known about how competitiveness affects the ways candidates communicate online. Our study analyzes how race competitiveness as measured by polling performance influences candidates' strategies on Twitter and Facebook. We analyze all social media messages of Republican and Democratic candidates in states that held gubernatorial elections in 2014 using supervised automated content analysis. We find that position in the polls and that race competitiveness are correlated with the ways candidates communicate on social media, and that candidates use Twitter and Facebook in different ways to communicate with the public.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Rossini, Dr Patricia
• Authors: Rossini, P., Stromer-Galley, J., Kenski, K., Hemsley, J., Zhang, F., and Dobreski, B.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Journal Name: Journal of Information Technology and Politics
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 1933-1681
• ISSN (Online): 1933-169X
• Published Online: 06 July 2018