Comparative candidate evaluation as a function of election level and candidate incumbency

The purpose of this study was to examine comparative political candidate evaluation. Specifically, three research questions were addressed in the context of the data collected from the 1984 general election campaign: (1) do the criteria voters use in making candidate evaluations vary as a function of election level; (2) do the criteria voters use differ among candidates within the same election level; and (3) do the criteria voters use vary for incumbents and challengers within the same election level. The results of the study suggest that incumbent positioning does make a difference in perceptual criteria formation for candidates (such that the incumbent may set the agenda for the challenger), that such criteria are idiosyncratic to individual candidates and election contexts, but that accurate predictions can be made of voting behavior once these idiosyncratic criteria are known.