Example Image
Civitas Outlook
Topic
Politics
Published on
May 20, 2024
Contributors
Grant Ferguson
James Gimpel
Mark Owens
Daron Shaw
Calvin Coolidge Campaign Memorabilia

Campaign Ads and the Differences Between Soliciting Donations and Mobilizing Volunteers

Contributors
Grant Ferguson
Grant Ferguson
Grant Ferguson
James Gimpel
James Gimpel
James Gimpel
Mark Owens
Mark Owens
Mark Owens
Daron Shaw
Daron Shaw
Senior Fellow
Daron Shaw
Summary
Political science has typically divided its study of nonvoting forms of political participation into two types: those that involve giving money and those that involve giving time.
Summary
Political science has typically divided its study of nonvoting forms of political participation into two types: those that involve giving money and those that involve giving time.

Research on political participation has long emphasized differences between Americans who donate money to political campaigns and Americans who perform other kinds of political activity. It’s unclear, however, if there are distinctions in how campaigns use advertisements to solicit donations and mobilize grassroots voters. Analyzing Facebook ad data from thousands of ads, donations, and e-mail sign-ups from a recent statewide gubernatorial campaign, we show that campaigns deploy ad themes that vary in their success at attracting donations and mobilizing grassroots activists. Ad effectiveness varies by region of the state as well. Ideological extremity boosts small donations and campaign sign-ups. However, less ideological campaign messages are also effective, perhaps because recipient lists are already curated to include the candidate’s likely supporters.

Read the Full Paper

This paper was originally published by The Journal of Information Technology & Politics

Continue Reading & Download PDF
00
1x
10:13
More articles

The Civis in Civic Architecture

Pursuit of Happiness
Apr 17, 2025

Could "Liberation" Take Us Back to Congress?

Constitutionalism
Apr 17, 2025
View all

Join the newsletter

Receive new publications, news, and updates from the Civitas Institute.

Sign up
More on

Politics

Liberal Democracy Reexamined: Leo Strauss on Alexis de Tocqueville

This article explores Leo Strauss’s thoughts on Alexis de Tocqueville in his 1954 “Natural Right” course transcript.

Raúl Rodríguez
Politics
Feb 25, 2025
Long Distance Migration as a Two-Step Sorting Process: The Resettlement of Californians in Texas

Here we press the question of whether the well-documented stream of migrants relocating from California to Texas has been sufficient to alter the political complexion of the destination state.

James Gimpel, Daron Shaw
Politics
Feb 6, 2025
Who's That Knocking? A Study of the Strategic Choices Facing Large-Scale Grassroots Canvassing Efforts

Although there is a consensus that personalized forms of campaign outreach are more likely to be effective at either mobilizing or even persuading voters, there remains uncertainty about how campaigns should implement get-out-the-vote (GOTV) programs, especially at a truly expansive scale.

Grant Ferguson, James Gimpel, Mark Owens, Daron Shaw
Politics
Dec 13, 2024
National Poll from Civitas Institute: Trump Victory Driven by Voters Who Reject Status Quo

The poll asked 1,200 Americans an array of questions about how things are going in America.

Daron Shaw
Politics
Dec 11, 2024

The Three Whiskey Happy Hour

Steven Hayward brings you the Power Line Blog's perspective on the week's big headlines.

View all
** items
Mahmoud Khalil Invites America to Judgment

A free and good society cannot be ‘open’ to everything, no matter how ugly or pernicious.

Richard M. Reinsch II
Politics
Apr 7, 2025
Are the Democrats Drifting Further Left?

Now is a good time to examine what the Democratic party believes in, who its main protagonists are, and what their agenda is.

Joel Kotkin
Politics
Apr 5, 2025
Ignore the Bluster – Donald Trump Is Not an Imperialist

MAGA foreign policy is driven by a haunting sense of America’s vulnerability and decline.

Joel Kotkin
Politics
Mar 28, 2025
An M.I.A. Congress Exacerbates the Clash Between Trump and the Courts

Congress has to step up and take some responsibility for the shaping of public policy.

John Yoo, Robert J. Delahunty
Politics
Mar 26, 2025

John Yoo: The DOJ Is Being ‘Tricky’ but They May Be Right

Politics
Mar 18, 2025
1:05

John Yoo: How Will Trump Try to ‘Redirect’ the Justice Department Toward ‘Public Order and Safety’?

Politics
Mar 14, 2025
1:05

John Yoo: Musk’s Audits Are Part of Alexander Hamilton’s ‘Energetic Executive’

Politics
Feb 10, 2025
1:05

Lord Andrew Roberts on Winston Churchill and the US-UK Special Relationship, Then and Now

Politics
Sep 26, 2024
1:05

Justin Dyer on Civic Education: Live at AEI's Future of the American University Conference

Politics
May 14, 2024
1:05
No items found.
No items found.
The Art of the Political Biography

Studying biography was considered the principal means for anyone wishing to acquire wisdom about political life.

Steven F. Hayward
Politics
Apr 11, 2025
Repudiating Genesis

Instead of “The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism,” a more apt, if less catchy, subtitle would have been “The Uses of Communist Rhetoric in Power Politics.”

Juliana Geran Pilon
Politics
Apr 3, 2025
Pierre Manent Investigates Europe's Democracy Crisis

Manent saw a hegemonic understanding of “Democracy” in Europe that bid fair to rule over and rework every element of social, national, and European life.

Paul Seaton
Politics
Apr 1, 2025
Thatcher and the Conservative Party, Fifty Years Later

Was Thatcher's premiership all a dream? It sure feels that way.

Charles C. W. Cooke
Politics
Mar 31, 2025
No items found.