her side of the abortion rights debate.The targeting strategies of non-major party candidates provide almost a mirror image. The Libertarian, Green, U.S. Taxpayer, Right-to-Life, Natural Law and Reform parties are organized to advance a specific cause or ideology. Six out of 10 of their candidates focused on single-issue voters and 39 percent used geodemographics as a targeting guide. Major party candidates are more likely to rely on capital-intensive campaign techniques, such as direct mail and mass media advertising. Non-major party candidates rely more on debates, forums, literature drops, billboards and yard signs.Sharp ContrastsMinor party and Independent candidates' financial disadvantages are compounded by their inability to attract earned media. Only 2 percent of these candidates reported that media coverage of the election favored them, 75 percent maintained that it favored their opponent's campaign and 23 percent believed it was fair to all of the candidates.These views contrast sharply with those of major party contestants, of whom 9 percent said they were favored by the media, 37 percent said it favored their opponent and 54 percent said it was fair to all.The candidates' perceptions reflect press biases against minor parties as well as the fact that only one in 10 third party and Independent party candidates reported receiving most of the newspaper endorsements made in their race, whereas slightly more than half of the major party candidates did.Given their lack of money and press attention, it should come as little surprise that less than one-quarter of all third party and Independent candidates believed they were able to set the agenda in their race. Approximately 22 percent thought an opponent set the agenda, and slightly fewer believe that both candidates influenced it.Democratic and Republican candidates, however, felt they had the power to exercise more control over the focus of the campaign. More than half believed t...
