Political scientists from the University of Notre Dame have their own answer in a new project called CampaignView. This new open-access database provides detailed, quantitative, and qualitative information about the policy platforms and biographical narratives of U.S. congressional candidates. Developed by Rachel Porter, this innovative resource documents the biographies of over 5,000 major-party candidates who ran for the U.S. House of Representatives between 2018 and 2022. CampaignView covers almost 87% of all ballot-eligible candidates. This platform offers a fascinating glimpse into how candidates convey their campaign message priorities and help define or muddy party identity.
The collaborative project officially launched in September 2017. So, Chester County’s Porter joined forces with Colin Case, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Iowa, and Sarah Treul, a professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They collected hundreds of thousands of campaign platform commitments. On top of that, they collected biographical stories from candidate campaign sites from the last eight years. For researchers, journalists, and citizens alike, CampaignView has quickly become an indispensable resource. It enables them to appreciate the relationship between the political landscape and the state of congressional elections.
Features of CampaignView
CampaignView makes a big splash by focusing specifically on primary elections. These elections have become the key national battlegrounds for many of those same congressional races. This smart, new feature will let people track how candidates are trying to position themselves to their party’s primary voters. It shows how their staging could be dooming their hopes in the general election.
CampaignView has promise for future research on understanding trends in partisan language as well as differences in candidate messaging by gender. It has great potential for understanding how campaign rhetoric could serve as a predictor of legislative priorities after candidates are sworn in.
Insights from Candidate Messaging
The data CampaignView has allowed us to collect uncovers incredible trends in how candidates are choosing to communicate where their priorities lay, regardless of party affiliation. Democrats always lead on categories such as “Energy and Environment,” “Health Care,” and “Social Welfare.” By contrast, Republicans placed their highest priority on “Immigration” and “Government Operations.”
In 2020, a crucial void developed in health care debates. Unsurprisingly, Democrats were 23 percentage points more likely to raise this issue on the floor than their Republican counterparts. By 2022, that gap had widened dramatically to more than 40 percentage points. This change once again reflects a widening gap in how each party is prioritizing health care on the campaign trail.
Education is another issue that’s been a spotlight for both political parties. Before last year, Democrats were about 25 points more likely than Republicans to mention education in their advertising campaigns. In 2022, that gap closed to just around five percentage points. This change points to another positive trend—Republicans and Democrats’ messaging on this important issue is starting to meet in the middle.
Continued Development and Future Plans
As CampaignView moves forward, researchers are just wrapping up data collection in preparation for the soon-to-be bustling 2024 election cycle. And indeed, plans are already underway to expand the database to cover the 2026 elections and beyond. This commitment to continuous improvement ensures CampaignView remains at the leading edge. It’s helpfully keeps you on the cutting edge of congressional candidates and their platforms as they dynamically emerge and change.
The significance of CampaignView extends beyond just gathering information. It provides a framework for analyzing how candidates’ messages adapt over time and how these changes might reflect broader shifts in voter sentiment and party identity. By providing an unmatched glimpse into candidate messaging and priorities, CampaignView equips everyday Americans with intelligence they need to make the right choice during elections.