Journal article
Voter mobilization and the Obama victory
American Politics Research, Vol.38(2), pp.211-232
2010
DOI: 10.1177/1532673X09359131
Abstract
As with the other presidential elections from this decade, the 2008 election was followed by considerable speculation as to how new efforts to mobilize voters affected the eventual outcome. Although the conventional wisdom implies that “Democrats benefit from higher turnout,” previous research in political science demonstrates that such a conclusion applies to actual election results inconsistently. In this article, we outline the difficulties involved with assessing turnout effects within a particular election and proceed to test the hypothesis that the Obama campaign benefited from higher turnout using three different methods. The evidence suggests that the Obama campaign benefited substantially from voter turnout, particularly in comparison with the Kerry campaign in 2004, yet they also were successful in changing the minds of already mobilized voters. Although various data difficulties suggest the presence of some bias in our estimates, the consistency of the results across tests supports the general conclusion.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Voter mobilization and the Obama victory
- Creators
- Tracy OsbornBenjamin KnollScott D McClurg
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- American Politics Research, Vol.38(2), pp.211-232
- DOI
- 10.1177/1532673X09359131
- ISSN
- 1552-3373
- eISSN
- 1552-3373
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2010
- Academic Unit
- Political Science; Public Policy Center (Archive)
- Record Identifier
- 9983920523502771
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