Date of Award
8-8-2023
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Sarah Gershon
Second Advisor
Daniel Franklin
Third Advisor
Lakeyta Bonnette-Bailey
Abstract
Do social media platforms influence state level election outcomes? This study examines how governors use the social media platform, Twitter, to aid in election and re-election efforts. Previous investigations into Twitter usage and public addresses have illustrated how politicians strategically disseminate information across various mediums to communicate with the public, mobilize voters, and showcase their in-office achievements. However, few studies have extensively examined the link between social media political communication and election outcomes on a state level. I attempt to expand the understanding and applicability of political communication to include Tweets specific election aiding content and electoral success in state-level elections. I provide OLS, Logit, and Negative Binomial Count Models to examine 161 U.S. Gubernatorial elections gubernatorial disseminated tweets from 2010-2020. The results indicate that gubernatorial twitter content that involves taking a stance on salient topics, personalizing themselves, and mentioning other Twitter users provided a measurable change in the likelihood of winning gubernatorial elections.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/35864479
Recommended Citation
Harley, Chanel, "The reciprocal relationship of political communication: How governors use social media to influence election outcomes." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2023.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/35864479
File Upload Confirmation
1