Political parties have started doing something slightly strange over the last couple of election cycles. They've been spending money on ads that help extreme members of the opposing party win that party's primaries.
For example, Democrats spent an estimated $53 million on ads that helped far-right Republican candidates win Republican primaries. The strategy behind this is simple: if you help an extreme candidate on the other side win their primary, you might increase your own chances in the general election. That’s because it’s generally easier to beat an extreme candidate than a moderate one in a general election.
We call this strategy "meddle ads," and we’re the first to study it.
One interesting thing about meddle ads is that information about them has become increasingly available. Over the last decade, the number of news articles describing meddle ads has increased by over 2,700 percent. More and more, voters are aware of which candidates use this strategy.
Our research looked into how people react when they find out a candidate from their own party used meddle ads. Across studies with over 7,000 respondents, we found that people are overwhelmingly averse to the use of meddle ads. When they learn that a candidate used meddle ads, they tend to speak negatively about that candidate, report more negative opinions, donate less to the campaign, and are less likely to vote for them in hypothetical elections.
It didn’t matter if we compared candidates using meddle ads to those whose strategy was unknown or to those using traditional ads focused on issues like the economy or abortion. People consistently reacted negatively to meddle ads and penalized the candidates who used them.
As we approach the 2024 presidential election, I’ll be watching closely to see how new marketing tactics, like the large-scale use of social media influencers, will affect voters. Will they move the needle on voter turnout or persuade people to vote for certain candidates? That’s something I’m eager to explore as the election unfolds.
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