Preaching to the Choir: Use of Email in Presidential Primaries

Authors

Jared Ide, Brigham Young University
Dr. Richard Davis, Brigham Young University

Keywords

choir, email, presidential primaries, political communication

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Political Science

Abstract

Over the past decade the Internet has emerged as an important tool for political communication. More and more candidates are using the Internet as a tool to reach and interact with voters. Even though the Internet has been closely studied as a political communications tool, email an important part of the Internet, has been largely left alone. Understanding email’s role in political communications will help increase the body of knowledge of political discourse. The paper investigated what candidates were trying to accomplish in their emails through a qualitative study of emails sent by Democratic candidates in the first six weeks of the 2004 Presidential Primaries. The study found that the two main purposes for emails were to reinforce supporter positions and to mobilize supporters.

Recommended Citation

Ide, Jared and Davis, Dr. Richard (2013) "Preaching to the Choir: Use of Email in Presidential Primaries," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013: Iss. 1, Article 385.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/385