that it is appropriate to inject into the campaign allegations of spousal abuse or infidelity, a recent bankruptcy, a DWI conviction or an unproven allegation from a lawsuit, reflecting a greater willingness to make an rival's personal foibles an election issue.Explaining the OutcomeThird party and Independent candidates' interpretations of the factors that contributed to the outcomes of their elections largely reflect their financial situations and assessments of the media. Both sets of candidates considered the amount of money spent on campaigning important, but 73 percent of the third party and Independent candidates thought that money was very important, whereas only 45 percent of the major party candidates held that view. Similarly, more than three-fourths of all candidates considered the news coverage of the campaign to be somewhat or very important in determining the election outcome, but 53 percent of the third party and Independent candidates and only 30 percent of the major party candidates considered news coverage to be very important. Though more than two-thirds of all candidates considered incumbency to be an important determinant of election outcomes, more non-major party candidates considered it to have been very important than did major party candidates. The differences between differing assessments of the impact of their public records, policy issues, campaign advertisements, endorsements, and other factors that are commonly discussed in connection with election outcomes pale next to these other factors.Campaign ReformReform advocates have been pushing to change various aspects of election campaigns for decades. While many of these proposals have been widely publicized, little is known about how candidates feel about various reform proposals. When asked their views of the current campaign finance system, two-thirds of all federal and state candidates surveyed agreed with one of these two statements: It's broken and need...
