This is part of a class assignment at Davidson College
South Dakota’s Senate Race
An Analysis of Tom Daschle’s Message Strategy
Daschle’s Message Strategy
The main objective of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle’s message strategy was to prove to his voting constituents all of the great things he has done for South Dakota during his 18 years in the U.S. Senate. He did this in a number of ways, by not only pointing to local things, such as getting $6.4 million to expand the University of South Dakota’s medical school, but also to much broader, more national issues, like passing tax cuts. He also rarely used any negative ads to attack his opponent, John Thune. The only instances in which negative campaigning was used by Daschle was to criticize Thune on his use of negative ads. (TV Ad) (TomDaschle.com, 2004) However, the overall message strategy utilized by Tom Daschle was an incredibly positive approach.
Evaluation of Daschle’s Message Strategy
Tom Daschle’s message strategy, from a normative perspective, was an extremely upbeat and very constructive. By not using the tactic of negative advertising, Daschle was able to run a very encouraging campaign that allowed many voters in South Dakota to be excited about the election. If the Senator had used the method of negative campaigning more, many voters may have been turned off by either his re-election bid or the Senate race as a whole. This would have potentially hurt Daschle during Election Day.
On the other hand, from a more strategic perspective, Daschle fully took advantage of all the evidence which showed his impact in the U.S. Senate as a representative for South Dakota. In almost all of his statements and television ads, the Senator always mentioned something he had done for the state, whether it is for agriculture, education, or Indian affairs. (TV Ad) (TomDaschle.com, 2004) This repeated emphasis on his results from being in the Senate most likely made many people want to re-elect him for another term. However, from a strategic viewpoint, spending all of his time and money on only positive things about himself may have been what cost him the election. By not criticizing his opponent more through negative advertising, he wasn’t able to accentuate any of the faults of Thune or discredit any of the accusations against himself. Strategically speaking, Daschle’s campaign may have had better results if he had utilized the effectiveness of negative ads.
In conclusion, the only real problem with Daschle’s campaign existed in the conflicting perspectives. Strategically, Daschle should have used more negative campaigning in order to both degrade Thune and combat allegations being made upon him. However, using the more normative perspective, it is understood that Daschle shouldn’t have used too many more negative ads because of the fact that some potential supporters may have gotten disgusted with his tactics and refuse to join his side on Election Day.
Contact: Mapaddock@davidson.edu
Created: 10/15/2004
Updated: 10/15/2004