Kerry, Bush and the Pac
ads sponsored by political action committees more negative and debut earlier in current campaign

As campaign ads endorsed by John Kerry and George Bush bombard the public, another form of political advertising is in full swing. The 527 Political Action Committees (PAC) across the country are advertising heavily and have become increasingly popular in this election year, according to University of Missouri-Columbia Communication professor William Benoit, who found these ads are more negative than candidate-sponsored ads.

"PAC ads function like surrogates, attacking the opposition so the candidates can attack less, which will hopefully avoid or minimize the typical charges of mudslinging by the candidates," said Benoit, one of the nation’s foremost experts on presidential campaigns. "Certainly we have not seen this much activity in general PAC ads this early in the year before."

Organizations such as the Club for Growth, Take Back America, and Truth and Hope ran 14 ads during the Democratic primary. Benoit found that 49 percent of their statements attacked presidential candidates, while 51 percent of their statements remained positive. The ads from the Democratic primary candidates were distinctly different: 79 percent of their statements were positive, with only 21 percent negative.

The general campaign PAC ads were even more negative, Benoit found. Of the 21 spots sponsored by such organizations as MoveOn.org, the Media Fund, and Grassfire.org, 93 percent of the statements were attacks on Bush or Kerry, while only 7 percent were positive.

"Historically, general campaign ads from candidates are 60 percent positive and 39 percent attacks, with 1 percent defending against attacks," Benoit said. "Bush and Kerry have only run a few ads, so there is little evidence about how negative or positive their campaigns will be. Still, at this point, 65 percent of the statements in their ads are positive and 29 percent are negative, with six percent defending against attacks."

Benoit also found that the 2004 primary PAC ads focused more on policy than character, with a 65 to 35 percent comparison. Democratic primary spots this year had a similar emphasis, with 61 percent policy attacks and 39 percent character attacks. The general PAC ads are more balanced, with 56 percent policy attacks and 44 percent character attacks. Historically, candidate ads and the ads run so far by Bush and Kerry discuss policy slightly more than PAC ads.

Other information about the 2004 presidential campaign, along with historic contextual information, can be found at Benoit’s Presidential Campaign 2004 Website: http://presidentialcampaign2004.coas.missouri.edu/.

Additional links:

Bill Benoit
Department of Communication
Presidential Campaign 2004

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