Departmental Papers (ASC)
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
10-7-2010
Publication Source
PS: Political Science & Politics
Volume
43
Issue
4
Start Page
707
Last Page
712
DOI
10.1017/S1049096510001125
Abstract
Using the most extensive dataset available on the 2008 election, I examine the impact of dog ownership on presidential vote preference. Canines were elevated to the status of a campaign issue when, during the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama publicly promised his daughters a dog after the election was over, a campaign promise that has since been fulfilled. However, this announcement appears to have unintentionally highlighted the absence of a key point of potential identification between this candidate and voters, and thus to have significantly undermined the likelihood that dog-owning voters would support Obama. I elaborate upon the implications of this finding for future presidential candidates.
Copyright/Permission Statement
© 2010 American Political Science Association, PS: Political Science & Politics
Recommended Citation
Mutz, D. C. (2010). The Dog That Didn’t Bark: The Role of Canines in the 2008 Campaign. PS: Political Science & Politics, 43 (4), 707-712. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096510001125
Date Posted: 10 April 2013
This document has been peer reviewed.