Week 2: Candidate Selection

Hello everyone! Last week, I previewed the context behind my project. I thought I may use this week to go into more detail regarding which debates I’ll be examining and their significance.  

First of all, I am going to be comparing data from two different pools. The first consists of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 debates. These debates are widely cited by scholars as when Trump demonstrated changes in norms. To evaluate the extent to which those norms have remained in place, I will be examining the debates from four 2022 midterm races. The debates I have selected are:

1. Florida Governor: Ron DeSantis (R) And Charlie Crist (D)
2. Ohio Senate: JD Vance (R) And Tim Ryan (D)
3. Pennsylvania Senate: John Fetterman (D) And Mehmet Oz (R)
4. Georgia Senate: Raphael Warnock (D) And Herschel Walker (R).

These four races are all occurring in purple states that are all among the top ten most populous in the country, as such, their audiences were large and balanced. But their states’ competitive natures and size were not the only reason they were selected. All four races received significant attention from the media. All four candidates had been endorsed by or did endorse Trump prior to their elections, and often received attention in the news for similar rhetorical styles or policy positions as Trump. Two of these candidates won their races and two lost. 

By looking at their rhetoric and norm violations, I hope to gauge the extent to which their rhetoric has shifted from Trump’s in 2016. In future blog posts, I expect to go into more detail about my observations from watching these debates and later, the methodology I’m using. Thanks for reading!