This or That: What Breaks a Political Campaign.

With the 2024 elections right around the corner, it wouldn’t hurt to review the failures of various political campaigns. In elections, campaigns are the way politicians market themselves to voters and showcase their platforms.

1. One campaign mistake politicians make is not providing enough information. Oftentimes, politicians will reach voters that already have an interest in politics and are already informed. However, by not providing enough information, politicians do not mobilize many voters. For example, women are 2.9% less likely to know about a popular political news story than men. Also, Hispanics are 3.4% less likely to know about a common news story than white voters.
2. Another mistake is not mobilizing young voters. Sometimes failed mobilization for voters between 18-35 is because of a bad campaign. However, sometimes it is because the candidate does not appeal to young voters. To appeal to young voters, candidates need to campaign on issues like climate change, social justice, worker’s rights, and racism. For example, discussion about covid-19 prevention created a surge of young voter turnout because this was a very relevant topic for young voters. College aged voters delt with the pandemic and navigating school. Mid-twenties voters delt with putting their children through online school and getting laid off from their jobs because they were often less experienced than their coworkers 40 years or older.
3. Another campaign mistake is campaigning on exclusive issues or not knowing how to mobilize the right voters. For example, Bernie Sander’s failed to mobilize African American voters by not attending key events and visting areas with these voters.

This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA Law Group specializes in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.