Travis Ridout | CAS in the Media | Washington State University

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Koch brothers gather conservative donors to hear GOP candidates

August 4, 2015

The first official debate in the Republican presidential primaries comes up later this week, on Thursday night. This past weekend was a milestone as well. New disclosures reveal the extent to which super PACs funded by ultra-wealthy donors have outraised the candidates’ own campaigns. And five of the GOP candidates auditioned before an elite set of contributors who collectively have pledged nearly a billion dollars for this election cycle. » More …

Campaign 2014 report: A surge in ‘dark money’

September 18, 2014

With midterm elections weeks away, outside interest groups are pumping a record amount of anonymous “dark money” into television political ads, according to a WSU researcher who tracks national campaign advertising.

“I suspect the numbers will go up even more during the crucial weeks leading up to Nov. 4,” said WSU political scientist Travis Ridout, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, which recently released a report showing a surge of political spending, mostly on highly contested U.S. Congressional seats. (See Wesleyan Media Project)

Not only is a lot of money being spent on broadcast ads, but it’s frequently being done in secret, said Ridout. Unlike candidates and political action committees, dark money groups—those able to claim tax status as social welfare organizations—can keep individual contributors anonymous.

Find out more about the nature of dark money:

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Explaining perceptions of advertising tone

May 8, 2014

With midterm elections only 6 months off, it appears that many political groups are moving away from negative attack ads. Experts believe this change could be a response to new trends in voter response.

Research by Travis Ridout, associate professor of political science at WSU, and a colleague at Wesleyan University suggests the tone or volume of a political ad is not the key consideration in whether an ad will resonate with the audience. Their 2012 analysis found the strategic framing of an ad matters more than its perceived negativity.

For example, an ad touting a candidate’s foreign politics expertise during an overseas crisis will resonate more with voters than a candidate criticizing his or her opponent’s lack of foreign expertise at a time of peace.

More about political advertising

When Kids Attack: Campaign 2014′s Youngest Combatants

April 25, 2014

A long line of American politicians have sought to appeal to voters by enlisting youthful surrogates in advertising. But the tactic, which is now on full display during the 2014 midterm election cycle, leads to tricky questions about what role children should play in campaigns, if any, and the costs and benefits for politicians who choose to thrust kids into the spotlight.

Travis N. Ridout, associate professor in politics, philosophy, and public affairs, said using children can help politicians who are “trying to target specific groups of voters, for instance parents who have young children.” By featuring their own children in their ads, politicians also have the chance to “seem more approachable” to potential voters, Ridout said.

Learn more and see some of the ads in ABC’s “The Note”

Washington state GMO labeling may be decided by relatively few voters

October 31, 2013

Voting strictly by absentee ballots, citizens of Washington state soon will decide, among other, lower-profile issues, whether the state will adopt Initiative 522 to label foods that contain genetically modified organisms (GMO). The theory behind the state’s unique, all-absentee-ballot system is that more people will participate if it’s more convenient.

However, it hasn’t entirely worked out that way, says Travis Ridout, WSU professor of political science.

“Most studies show that vote by mail increases turnout a little bit just because of the convenience factors but maybe not as much as supporters of it would hope,” Ridout said. In an off-cycle election with little on the statewide ballot, like the one this year, about 30 percent of the state’s residents are likely to vote, he predicted. Thus, the decision of whether to become the first state in the country to require GMO labeling on food, which could encourage other states to do the same, might come down to roughly 1.2 million votes.