Supervisor: David Ekbladh, Department of History, Tufts University

Project Outline

Campaigns are where most Americans encounter politics. Whether through yard signs, TV soundbites, or Instagram posts, presidential candidates have long shaped their public image and political messaging with the goal of winning voters’ trust—and votes. Yet behind these messages lie deliberate strategies, often crafted to manipulate emotion, obscure complexity, and prioritize winning over truth. This reality—alongside the staggering levels of political disengagement in the U.S.—has motivated me to pursue research on the evolution of presidential campaign marketing and its effect on the American voter’s relationship with politics.

Through my Laidlaw research, I will explore how presidential candidates from different eras have marketed themselves to the public, how those strategies have evolved in response to media and cultural change, and how that evolution has shaped voter participation, political access, and civic understanding. From the pamphleteering of the early republic to the digital branding of the 21st century, I will investigate how political messaging not only persuades, but also includes or excludes, informs or misleads.

I will compare three pivotal elections across U.S. history:

• 1800 (Jefferson vs. Burr): Early partisanship, press-driven influence, and elite political communication.

• 1992 (Clinton vs. Bush): The rise of media-centric campaigning and the personalization of the candidate.

• 2020 (Trump vs. Biden): The digital age of algorithmic targeting, social media engagement, and political polarization.

These case studies highlight how shifting media and messaging tactics influence voter participation, knowledge, and perceptions of representation. In tracing this evolution, I aim to critically assess how political marketing has historically influenced civic participation (who votes and why), political access (who is being spoken to or left out), and representation (whose needs are acknowledged or manipulated). This research offers insight into how American democracy is performed—and consumed—through campaigns.

Methodology 

My research will combine primary and secondary source analysis with a comparative historical approach. I’ll analyze campaign materials—pamphlets, debates, ads, and social media—alongside scholarly research. I will assess how candidates craft their personas, target communities, and adapt to changing communication platforms. My goal is to trace the relationship between evolving campaign strategies and voter engagement over time. 

Objective 

This research is rooted in a broader mission: to make politics more accessible. In a system where many feel excluded from civic life, I want to help voters better understand how politicians market themselves—and why that matters. By breaking down campaign strategies, I hope to empower more people to engage critically and confidently with the democratic process. Politics shouldn’t require privilege or advanced education to understand—it should belong to everyone.