For better or worse? How political consultants are changing elections in the United States

Much of what has been written about professional political consultants is based on assertion and speculation. Critics of consultants have indicted them for nearly every conceivable ill that plagues American federal elections---high campaign costs, weak parties, poisonous "negative" ads, and campaigns that are devoid of any attention to issues. This dissertation takes a fresh look at the "hired guns" of campaigning and empirically examines the assumptions and assertions from the consultant perspective, by investigating the relationships consultants have with candidates, voters, the media, and political parties. Utilizing a unique data set of consultants' attitudes and beliefs that comes from the most comprehensive survey of the profession, I evaluate consultants' place in modern democratic elections in the United States. This new perspective calls into question much of the conventional wisdom surrounding political consultants. For example, this work illustrates that consultants are not motivated solely by the money that is ever-present in today's campaigns. Rather, they resemble campaign activists; they are individuals who have a genuine love of politics and become involved because of issues and their own political beliefs. In addition, this work shows that rather than pushing parties to the side of elections, as some critics would have us believe, consultants and parties work in cooperation as partners. Data reported below suggests that a clear division of labor exists between consultants and parties with both sides recognizing that modern campaigns require a change from previous models of electioneering. This work also examines the effects of hiring consultants on candidates' electoral and fund-raising success. Building on work that shows that candidates who hire consultants both raise more money and garner a greater percentage of the vote, evidence is presented that shows that hiring consultants who are more renown and more skillful than others also have an impact on candidate successes. Finally, consultants place in democratic elections is considered. Reflecting on the small but growing pile of evidence, I argue that while they should not be given a free pass, consultants are not a scourge on democracy. In fact, in some ways, consultants can enhance democratic elections.