AMERICAN Bystrom et al.

BEHAVIORAL / MEDIA COVERAGE SCIENTIST OF FEMALE AND MALE CANDIDATES

I. Senate Races and Presidential Primaries: Getting/Keeping the Publics Attention

Framing the Fight

An Analysis of Media Coverage of Female and Male Candidates in Primary Races for Governor and U.S. Senate in 2000

DIANNE G. BYSTROM
Iowa State University

TERRY A. ROBERTSON
Columbia College

MARY CHRISTINE BANWART

University of Oklahoma

The few research studies that explore the medias portrayal of female candidates in comparison to male candidates have been limited to general election campaigns and usually to one level of office. To expand this area of research, this study examines the medias portrayal of female and male candidates in primary races at two levels of political leadership in which the representation of women is strikingly lowstate governor and U.S. senatorin the 2000 campaign. This studys exploration of how the media portrays female and male candidates relies on a content analysis of articles from major national newspapers and representative major regional newspapers. By studying the medias portrayal of male and female candidates during primary elections at two levels of political leadership, this study provides an understanding about how men and women are framed differently even when vying for their own partys bid and, thus, new insights into how such primary framing can translate into bias during the general elections.

Studies show that when women run for political office, they win in the same percentages as men in comparable races (Newman, 1994). But, do women candidates receive the same treatment from the media on their paths to political office? Studies analyzing the newspaper coverage of women gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidates (Devitt, 1999; Kahn, 1992, 1994a, 1994b, 1996; Kahn & Goldenberg, 1991) as well as Elizabeth Doles bid for the Republican
AMERICAN BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST, Vol. 44 No. 12, August 2001 1999-2013 2001 Sage Publications

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nomination for president in 1999 (Bystrom, 1999; Heldman, Carroll, & Olson, 2000) show that women and men are treated differently by the media. Such biases can have consequences for women candidates not only in their campaigns but also at the polls (Kahn, 1992, 1994a, 1996). The purpose of this article is to extend previous research by examining the newspaper coverage of women gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidates during the crucial primary stage of the election. To set the foundation for this examination, we begin with a review of previous research on the media coverage of women candidates.
MEDIA COVERAGE OF POLITICAL WOMEN

Women running for political office often struggle to receive media coverage and legitimacy in the eyes of the media and, subsequently, the public (Braden, 1996; Devitt, 1999; Kahn, 1992, 1994a, 1994b; Kahn & Goldenberg, 1991; Witt, Paget, & Matthews, 1994). According to Braden (1996), journalists often ask women politicians questions they dont ask men and describe them in ways and with words that emphasize womens traditional roles and focus on their appearance and behavior (p. 1). For example, the hairstyles of former Texas Governor Ann Richards and U.S. Senate candidate Lynn Yeakel, Yeakels wardrobe, and U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulskis weight and physical appearance were subjected to media coverage during the 1992 and 1994 campaigns (Braden, 1996; Witt, Paget, & Matthews, 1994). In a recent study of 1998 gubernatorial candidates, Devitt (1999) found that newspaper reporters devoted much more attention to the personal lives, personalities, and appearances of women as compared with men. Women political candidates and leaders also are described and trivialized by the medias use of gender-specific terms (Braden, 1996). For example, in the Chicago Tribunes coverage of her campaign for U.S. Senate, Carol Moseley Braun was described as a den mother with a cheerleaders smile (Witt, Paget, & Matthews, 1994, p. 181). Although male political candidates do encounter image problems in their campaigns, they generally have more latitude in how they dress and behave because the public is conditioned to accept men as leaders (Braden, 1996). Most studies examining the newspaper coverage of women candidates (Kahn, 1994a; Kahn & Goldenberg, 1991) have found that this medium not only stereotypes female candidates by emphasizing feminine traits and feminine issues, but also accords them less coverage that often focuses on their viability as candidates. In an experimental design, fictitious female candidates gained viability when they received the same media coverage usually given to male incumbents (Kahn 1992, 1994b). However, Kahn (1994b) also has noted that gender stereotyped newspaper coverage can sometimes be used to a women candidates advantage; for example, by emphasizing their warmth and honesty. Such positive stereotypes may

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actually create a favorable electoral environment for women candidates, Kahn (1994b) argues. Studies conducted since Kahns work (1992, 1994a, 1994b, 1996) have confirmed many of her findings and given some hope that media coverage of women candidates might be improving. For example, Smiths (1997) study of newspaper coverage of female and male U.S. Senate and gubernatorial candidates in 11 races in 1994 provides a cautious inference that reporters are treating women and men more equally. In this study, women and men received about the same quantity and quality of coverage. Women received less coverage in open races, more coverage in gubernatorial races, and more neutral coverage overall. Although this study found that the rule was one of rough parity in coverage, it concluded that most exceptions to the rule were at the expense of female candidates (Smith, 1997, p. 79). And, in his study of 1998 gubernatorial candidates, Devitt (1999) found that although male and female candidates for governor received about the same amount of coverage, women received less issue-related coverage than men did. In a study of the national newspaper and television coverage of Hillary Rodham Clinton and Elizabeth Hanford Dole as presidential candidate wives in 1996, Bystrom, McKinnon and Chaney (1999) found that these women were equally more likely to be discussed in terms of their image (i.e., personality, appearance, qualities, etc.) than in terms of political issues by a ratio of about 8 to 1. Also, contrary to expectations, only 25% of the stories focusing on the presidential candidate wives were neutral in their coverage. Clinton was significantly more likely than Dole to receive negative coverage and Dole was significantly more likely to receive positive coverage in these stories. Studies assessing the media coverage of Elizabeth Doles run for the Republican presidential nomination in 1999 also confirm some biases. For example, in a content analysis of newspaper coverage in Iowa prior to the August 1999 Republican straw poll (the first major, media-covered test of strength for GOP hopefuls), Bystrom (1999) found that Dole received less news coverage than George W. Bush and Steve Forbes. Dole was mentioned in 33% of the stories, compared with Bush, who was included in 80% of the stories, and Forbes, who was mentioned in 43%. At the time, Dole was second to Bush in the polls, nationally and in Iowa, and Dole and Forbes had visited the state more often than Bush. This study also found that Dole was more likely to be covered in terms of her image (63%) than issues (37%), whereas Bushs coverage was almost equal in terms of his issues (44%) and image (41%). Forbes was more likely to be covered in terms of issues (50%) than image (29%). Contrary to expectations, Bystrom (1999) found that very little attention was paid to Doles physical appearance. However, she was described in terms of her personality, her faith, her pets, and her home. Another study (Heldman, Carroll, & Olson, 2000) analyzing articles from the major papers section of Lexis-Nexis from March 12 through October 19, 1999

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(i.e., the time coinciding with Doles formation of an exploratory committee until her withdrawal from the race) found that Dole received considerably less coverage than Bush and U.S. Sen. John McCain. Dole was mentioned in 19.7% of the articles, compared with Bush (72.9%) and McCain (33%). Again, during the period studied, Dole was second to Bush in the polls and had high favorability ratings. Similar to Bystrom (1999), Heldman, Carroll, and Olson (2000) found that most reporters did not comment on Doles appearance. However, about three fifths of the stories they studied made reference to at least one Dole personality trait. The results of these studies indicate the biases that often face political women, particularly candidates, in campaigns for public office. The media can have a great impact on the publics perceptions of women candidates and their campaigns by portraying them as less viable and by describing them in terms of their image characteristics, rather than their issue stances. In their coverage of women candidates, the media often reflect the biases and stereotypes of the public. Sometimes, women political candidates have been able to capitalize on the stereotypes held by the media and the public to promote and better their images. However, when political women attempt to break out of stereotypically perceived roles and characteristics, they often incur the criticism of the media and the public. Based upon recent studies of the media coverage of women political candidates and presidential candidate wives, this research attempts to empirically assess the media coverage of women candidatescompared with men candidatesrunning for governor and U.S. Senate nominations in the early, primary stages of the 2000 campaign. The following research questions guided this study:
RQ1: Are there significant differences in the quantity and focus of newspaper coverage accorded to female and male candidates? RQ2: Are there significant differences in the favorable, unfavorable, and viability newspaper coverage accorded to female and male candidates? RQ3: Are there significant differences in newspaper mentions of female and male candidates gender, children, and marital status? RQ4: Are there significant differences in the types of issues attributed to female and male candidates in their newspaper coverage? RQ5: Are there significant differences in the types of images attributed to female and male candidates in their newspaper coverage?

METHOD The primary races of 20 women and 41 men in the 2000 election were included in this study. Of the candidates, 37 (14 women and 23 men) were running in primary races for the U.S. Senate; 24 candidates (6 women and 18 men) were running in gubernatorial primaries. Selected for this study were 14

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2003

newspapers covering these 61 campaigns. The newspapers with the largest circulation, as identified by the Audit Bureau of Circulation, from each respective state were used in the study. The newspaper articles were initially researched through an online computer search, and the names of each candidate were used to conduct the search. Newspaper articles are a significant source of information for the electorate. Studies have found that at the presidential level the patterns of coverage for candidates from television and newspapers are similar (Graber, 1989; Joslyn, 1984). In addition, Goldenberg, Traugott, and Kahn (1987) posit that newspaper coverage influences voters views of candidates. Furthermore, Kahn (1991) argued that because newspaper coverage is influential, it should be studied to see how campaigns are covered in the press. Finally, Lichter and Noyes (1995) argued that voter knowledge does not increase with exposure to television but will show a modest increase when voters read a newspaper daily. A total of 707 articles appearing between May 1 and August 31, 2000, were collected from the 14 newspapers selected for this study. Because primaries are traditionally finished by Labor Day, the gathering of articles was restricted to that timeframe. A written instrument was developed to code the universe (N = 707) of newspaper articles. The coding instrument explained in detail the procedures utilized. Recording of the data required techniques ranging from frequency distribution to identifying stereotypes or slants of coverage. The categories for the coding of differences in presenting male and female candidates evolved from previous research investigating political communication (Davis, 1978; Kahn, 1993; Kahn & Goldenberg, 1991; Miller, 1996). Categories were employed to describe the demographic data (i.e., name, sex, publication date, page number, and paragraph length). Another category enabled coders to depict the focus of the article (i.e., was the article predominantly focused on the male or the female candidate?) The next set of categories was designed to identify characteristics and representation of each candidate. These categories included character (e.g., was scandal linked to the candidate or was trust brought up as an issue with the candidate?), credibility references (e.g., was the candidate depicted as being truthful?), and mentions of traits associated with gender role and status (e.g., was the candidates sex, marital status, or children mentioned?). In addition, categories associated with the slant of the coverage were included. These categories were evaluative and asked coders to judge the overall slant of the coverage. Evaluations were made on the article in its entirety and included statements concerning the overall treatment of the candidates (e.g., was one candidate treated more favorably in the article than the other?). Finally, a category was created that listed issues associated with the candidates. These issues included the economy, reproductive choice, the environment, poverty, gun control, health care, government ethics, education, crime, youth violence, and defense. The issue categories were adopted from Bystroms (1995, 1999) research on political candidates.

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CODING PROCEDURES OF THE NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

Four coders were recruited from an honors communication class to evaluate the content of newspaper articles concerning female and male candidates running in primary races for U.S. Senate and governor in 2000. A 4-hour session used to train coders included a read-through of the coding instrument and coding five articles of like content. Afterward, the coders were asked to code three articles on their own. Then the responses were compared and further explanation offered. To test for intercoder reliability, 10% of the population was utilized. Intercoder reliability on the news articles, calculated using the formula suggested by Holsti (North, Holsti, Zaninovich, & Zinnes, 1963), averaged +.88 across all categories with a range of +.78 (on candidate strategy mentioned in news articles) to +100 (on the demographic data, issue identification, mention of marital status). During the coding sessions, the categories on the coding instrument were reviewed and defined by visual or literary examples. Furthermore, to ensure that coders comprehended the definitions of each category and use of the coding instrument, they were asked to code several examples of the artifacts under investigation. Finally, if any incongruity was noted, retraining occurred until all coders fully understood the procedures.
DATA ANALYSIS

This study used descriptive statistics, recording frequencies, and presence or absence in the defined categories; chi-squares; and paired-sample t tests where appropriate. Frequencies were used to calculate the number of articles mentioning male candidates and female candidates. To test for direct differences in the number of articles relating issues to male candidates and issues to female candidates, chi-squares and paired-sample t tests were used. In testing for direct differences in the number of articles relating mentions of image characteristics with female candidates to male candidates, paired-sample t tests were again utilized. For all tests, the significance level of .05 was set.

RESULTS This analysis of 707 newspaper articles focusing on 20 female and 41 male candidates running for their partys nomination for U.S. Senate and governor in the 2000 primary elections found significant results that contribute to the existing literature on the media coverage of women political candidates. Several differences in the coverage of female candidates and male candidates are evident.

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QUANTITY AND DOMINANT FOCUS

The first research question investigates whether significant differences exist in the quantity and focus of newspaper coverage. The results of this study indicate that in the 2000 primary races analyzed, more of the 707 articles examined focused predominantly on female candidates (n = 300, 42.4%) rather than male candidates (n = 118, 16.7%) or than equally on both candidates (n = 289, 40.9%). The difference in dominant focus between female candidates and male 2 candidates was significant, (1, N = 418) = 79.224, p < .001. Female candidates also were mentioned significantly more often in articles than male candidates, as 683 of the 707 articles (96.6%) mentioned the woman and 529 (74.8%) mentioned the man, 2(1, N = 707) = 8.126, p < .004.
FAVORABLE, UNFAVORABLE, AND VIABILITY IN THE COVERAGE

Our second research question investigates the differences in the favorable, unfavorable, and viability coverage of the candidates. The findings suggest that female and male candidates received far more neutral coverage than either positive or negative coverage. Specifically, in the 683 articles in which female candidates were mentioned, women were mentioned positively in 96 (14.1%) articles, negatively in 128 (18.4%) articles, and neutrally in 459 (67.2%) articles. In the 529 articles mentioning male candidates, men were mentioned positively in 34 (6.4%) articles, negatively in 125 (23.6%) articles, and neutrally in 370 (69.9%) articles. As Table 1 indicates, female and male candidates were treated significantly more neutrally than either positively or negatively: female, 2(2, N = 2 683) = 354.837, p < .001; male, (2, N = 529) = 342.537, p < .001). However, female and male candidates still received more negative press than positive: 2 2 female, (1, N = 224) = 4.571, p = .033; male, (1, N = 159) = 52.082, p < .001. When the viability of the candidate was discussed in the article, our findings indicated little difference in the attention afforded female and male candidates. In dominantly female-focused articles, 31.7% of the articles discussed the candidates viability compared with 33.1% of the dominantly male-focused articles that discussed the candidates viability. A much larger percentage of articles did not discuss candidate viability (68.3% of the female-focused, 66.9% of the male-focused).
MENTIONS OF CANDIDATE SPECIFICS

When the newspaper mentions of the candidates sex, children, and marital status were analyzed, the female candidates still received more attention to details of this kind than did the male candidates (see Table 2). Specifically, the

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AMERICAN BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST Candidate Treatment in Articles Article

TABLE 1:

Candidate Represented Male (N = 529) Female (N = 683)

Positive n 34 96 % 6.4 14.1

Negative n 125 128 % 23.6 18.7

Neutral n 370 459 % 69.9 67.2 Chi-square Significance 342.537 354.837 .001 .001

sex of the female candidate was indicated in 38 (12.7%) articles of the 300 dominantly female-focused articles whereas the sex of the male candidate was never 2 mentioned in the 118 dominantly male-focused articles, (1, N = 418) = 16.441, p < .001. Similarly, in the dominantly female-focused articles, a reference to the candidates children occurred in 40 (13.3%) of the articles compared with 5 (4.2%) of the dominantly male-focused articles, 2(1, N = 418) = 7.294, p = .007. With regard to the candidates marital status, 75 (25%) of the articles focusing on female candidates made this notation whereas 15 (12.7%) of the articles focusing on male candidates made note of their marital status, 2(1, N = 418) = 7.569, p = .006.
ISSUES ATTRIBUTED TO THE CANDIDATES

Overall, there was an absence of issues discussed in the newspaper articles analyzed. All of the 20 issues coded in this analysis were not mentioned significantly more than they were mentioned (p < .001). The top issue mentioned in male and female-focused articles was taxes, which was identified in 22% of the 118 male-focused articles and 20% of the 300 female-focused articles. Other issues identified in similar percentages in male- and female-focused articles were the economy (11% male, 13% female), education (9.3% male and female), budget deficit (5.1% male, 4.3% female), and immigration (4.2% male, 4.7% female). Issues identified more with women candidates, but not significantly so, included womens issues (15.7% female, 10.2% male), social security (7.3% female, 3.4% male), environment (5% female, 1.7% male), drugs (3.7% female, 2.5% male), defense (3.3% female, 2.5% male) and welfare (3% female, 1.7% male). Issues identified more with male candidates, but not significantly so, included crime (5.9% male, 2.7% female) and youth violence (3.4% male, 1.7% female). However, five issues were identified more with dominantly male-focused articles than with dominantly female-focused articles (see Table 3)health care, dissatisfaction with the government, unemployment, the cost of living, and poverty. Health care was present in 17.8% of the dominantly male-focused articles and 8.3% of the dominantly female-focused articles, 2(1, N = 418) = 7.744, p = .005. Dissatisfaction with government was present in 16.9% of the dominantly male-focused articles and in 7.3% of the dominantly female-focused

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TABLE 2:

Cross Tabulation Results of References to Candidate Children and Marital Status in Newspaper Articles Gender Female (N = 300) Male (N = 118)

Reference to Candidate Candidate children Marital status Candidate sex

n 40 75 38

% 13.3 25.0 12.7

n 5 15 0

% 4.2 12.7 0.0

Chi-square Significance 7.294 7.569 16.441 .007 .006 .001

NOTE: Not present and candidates both mentioned categories are not included in the table.

TABLE 3:

Cross Tabulation Results of Issue Mentions in Newspaper Articles Gender Male (N = 118) Female (N = 300)

Issue

% 17.8 16.9 10.2 3.4 1.7 4.2

n 25 22 12 2 0 34

% 8.3 7.3 4.0 0.7 0 11.3

Chi-square Significance 7.744 8.664 5.956 4.439 5.109 5.041 .005 .003 .015 .035 .024 .025

Health care 21 Dissatisfaction with government 20 Unemployment 12 Cost of living 4 Poverty 2 International issues 5

NOTE: Not present and candidates both mentioned categories are not included in the table.

articles, (1, N = 418) = 8.664, p = .003. Unemployment was present in 10.2% of the dominantly male-focused articles and 4% of the dominantly female2 focused articles, (1, N = 418) 5.956, p = .015. The cost of living was present in 3.4% of the dominantly male-focused articles and 0.7% of the dominantly 2 female-focused articles, (1, N = 418) = 4.439, p = .035. Poverty was virtually a non-issue in the news articles, as it was mentioned in 1.7% of the dominantly male-focused articles and never mentioned in the dominantly female-focused articles, 2(1, N = 418) = 5.109, p = .024. One topicinternational issueswas identified significantly more in 2 female-focused than male-focused articles11.3% compared with 4.2%, (1, N = 418) = 5.041, p = .025.
PRESENTING IMAGES OF THE CANDIDATES

In analyzing the types of images attributed to male and female candidates in their newspaper coverage, six significant differences were found (see Table 4). First, the image of honesty was linked significantly more with the dominantly

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AMERICAN BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST Cross Tabulation Results of Candidate Image Characteristics Reported in Newspaper Articles Gender Male (N = 118) Female (N = 300)

TABLE 4:

Image characteristic Personal tone Address audience as peers Voice for the state Candidate honesty Calling for change Candidate endorsements

n 56 35 33 27 24 23

% 47.5 29.7 28 22.9 20.3 19.5

n 39 30 30 32 30 21

% 13 10 10 10.7 10 7

Chi-square Significance 57.256 24.929 21.356 10.423 8.047 14.031 .001 .001 .001 .001 .005 .001

NOTE: Not present and candidates both mentioned categories are not included in the table.

male-focused articles (22.9%) than the dominantly female-focused articles 2 (10.7%), (1, N = 418) = 10.423, p = .001. Second, the image of being a voice for the state was linked more significantly with the dominantly male-focused 2 articles (28%) than with the female-focused articles (10%), (1, N = 418) = 21.356, p < .001. Third, candidate quotes were more likely to use a personal tone in the dominantly male-focused articles (47.5%) than in the dominantly female-focused articles (13%), 2 (1, N = 418) = 57.256, p < .001. Fourth, the candidates quoted in the dominantly male-focused articles (29.7%) than in the dominantly female-focused articles (10%) addressed the audience as peers, 2 (1, N = 418) = 24.929, p < .001. The fifth image, that of calling for change, was discussed significantly more often in dominantly male-candidate articles 2 (20.3%) than dominantly female-candidate articles (10%), (1, N = 418) = 8.047, p = .005. Finally, the use of candidate endorsements were included significantly more in dominantly male-candidate articles (19.5%) than in dominantly female-candidate articles (7%), 2(1, N = 418) = 14.031, p < .001. Women and men candidates were just as likely to be discussed in terms of appearance (24% of the female-focused articles vs. 21.2% of the male-focused articles), personality (20% vs. 24.6%), warmth (12.3% vs. 12.7%), and competence (6.7% vs. 5.9%). Female-focused articles were more likely to mention toughness (10.3%) and attack the record of the opponent (12%) than were the male-focused articles (6.8%, 5.9%), but not significantly so. Male-focused articles were more likely than were female-focused articles to mention activity (11% vs. 9%), invite participation (11% vs. 6%), and emphasize optimism (11% vs. 4.3%), but not significantly so. Male-focused articles also were more likely than were the female-focused articles to use expert authorities (10.2% vs. 8%), cite statistics (5.9% vs. 3.3%), and mention incumbency (5.9% vs. 3.0%). Female-focused articles were more likely than were male-focused articles to emphasize the candidates accomplishments (9.7% vs. 4.2%) and cite personal experiences (8% vs. 4.2%), but not significantly so.

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DISCUSSION This study of newspaper coverage of female and male candidates vying for their parties nomination in primary races for the U.S. Senate and governor reveals that biases still exist. However, some of the results indicate that women and men were treated more equally in their newspaper coverage in the 2000 primary races, compared with previous general elections. For example, the 20 women candidates included in this study received significantly more coverage than did the 41 men candidates, in terms of mentions in the articles (96.6% vs. 74.8%) and in terms of the focus of the articles (42.4% vs. 16.7%). This finding contradicts previous research (Kahn 1994b; Kahn & Goldenberg, 1991) showing that women running for governor or the U.S. Senate received less coverage than men as well as more recent studies (Devitt, 1999; Smith, 1997) indicating that women running for U.S. Senate or governor received about equal coverage as men. Women running for U.S. Senate and governor in the primary stage of the 2000 election also fared better than did presidential hopeful Elizabeth Dole, who received less coverage than her male opponents in 1999 (Bystrom, 1999; Heldman, Carroll, & Olson, 2000). Of course, the quality of the coveragenot just the quantityis also important to candidates. In terms of the slantpositive, negative, or neutralof their coverage and assessment of their viability as candidates, the women and men candidates in these races were treated almost equally. Women and men candidates received mostly neutral coverage, though the negative coverage of both outweighed their positive coverage. Contrary to earlier studies (Kahn, 1994b; Kahn & Goldenberg, 1991), women candidates were not discussed more frequently in terms of their viability. In fact, about one third of the coverage of female and male candidates focused on their viability, and the other two thirds of the articles covering their campaigns did not mention their potential for success. Still, some stereotypes did emerge in the coverage of female and male candidates, with women being described significantly more often than men in terms of their sex, marital status, and children. The implications behind these findings are far reaching and may prove detrimental to female candidates as they attempt to gain viability as candidates. Interestingly, studies of political advertising (Bystrom, 1995; Bystrom & Kaid, 2000; Bystrom & Miller, 1997) have shown that women candidates are no more likely than are men candidates to mention their children or marital status in their commercials; and women are less likely than are men to show their families on their Web sites (Kaid & Banwart, 2001). So, the attention paid by the print media to women candidates marital status and children reflects the double standards still in place in society when evaluating the ability of women to balance their professional and personal/family roles. Even in articles that tended to be positive toward woman candidates, the novelty of womanhood, rather than their issue positions, stood at the foreground of the news piece. This article (Snow, Collins, 2000) concerning Maine U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe, who was running for re-election, is typical:

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As a whole, women are different, more relationship oriented, more collaborative, and more concerned about results. . . . Women tend to work harder at building consensus and theyre less concerned about who gets the credit and picking winners and losers. (p. B12)

However, contrary to recent studies assessing the coverage of presidential candidate wives in 1996 (Bystrom, McKinnon, & Chaney, 1999) and gubernatorial candidates in 1998 (Devitt, 1999), no more attention was paid to the appearance and personality of women candidates than men candidates running in 2000 primary races for U.S. Senate and governor. In the coverage of these races, the appearance and personality of female and male candidates was mentioned about equally, in about 20 to 25% of their coverage. Still, there were some examples in the 2000 primary campaign coverage in which the female candidate was described in terms of her appearance or image, and the male candidate in terms of his issues. The Bismarck Tribune, for example, in an article discussing gubernatorial candidates John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp, described Heitkamp as, being known by everybody. She has this big smile (Canton, 2000, p. A1). The article goes on to discuss Hoevens handling of the issues: From the beginning of his race for the Republican endorsement against Senate Majority Leader Gary Nelson last January, Hoeven has gathered all issues under the umbrella of economic development (Canton, 2000, p. A1). Confirming a trend found in Bystroms (1999) study of newspaper coverage of presidential hopefuls prior to the Iowa Republican Straw Poll, this study found that candidates were just as likely to be described in terms of their images as their issues. In fact, the 707 articles analyzed for this study were significantly more likely to avoid issue discussion than to mention issues. There were some significant differences found in the types of issues associated with male and female candidates. Most surprising was the finding that international affairsa traditional and consistent masculine issuewas associated significantly more often with women than with men candidates. Much of this finding, however, can be attributed to first lady Hillary Rodham Clintons bid for the U.S. Senate seat in New York. Palestinian/Israeli relations were one of the major topics of concern in the Clinton White House during the primary period, and Mrs. Clintons positions on issues concerning Israel (and New York City Jewish voters) were continually reported in newspapers. Men were more likely to be associated with such masculine issues as dissatisfaction with government, unemployment, and the cost of living. But, perhaps more interesting, men were also more likely to be associated with such feminine issues as health care and poverty. Recent studies of female and male candidate political advertising (Bystrom, 1995; Bystrom & Kaid, 2000; Bystrom & Miller, 1999) also have found that men are emphasizing more traditionally female issues in their campaign commercials as well. These men candidates also were more likely than were the women candidates to be associated with feminine image traits such as honesty and such elements of

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feminine style as use of personal tone and addressing voters as peers. Men also were more likely to be associated with the challenger image of calling for changes and of being a voice for the state. It is interesting to note that previous studies (Bystrom, 1995; Bystrom & Miller, 1999) have found that men are more likely than are women to stress honesty in their political ads. These studies have mostly found no differences in the use by male and female candidates of the elements of feminine style. So, it is also interesting that men candidates were associated more with these stylistic traits in their newspaper coverage. Confirming previous studies on political ads (Bystrom, 1995; Bystrom & Kaid, 2000; Bystrom & Miller, 1999), women and men candidates were almost equally likely to be associated with warmth as toughness. In fact, some of the women candidates running in the 2000 primaries had to contradict images painted by the media of being too tough. The following excerpt from a New York Times biographical piece about Hillary Clinton (Dowd, 2000), in her race for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in New York, illuminates the paradox facing many women candidates who break traditionally held stereotypes to run for elected office:
A womans hand, representing Hillary Clintons, reaches out with an electric prod, digs into the most sensitive part of the male anatomy, andbzzzz!! The New York Conservative Party attack ad, which has been running since Sunday, including twice during Meet the Press, depicts Hillary as a castrating rhymes with rich. The text is about how she got her hands on her henpecked husbands health care plan and messed it up. . . . Ricky is desperately trying to prove hes manly enough for the New York Senate job by painting Hillary as not womanly enough, i.e., a cold, bitter, biting harpy. Usually, female candidates have to prove theyre tough enough. Hillary Clinton is in the odd position of having to prove shes tender enough. (p. A16)

Overall, the findings of this study reveal that women candidates received more newspaper coverage than did men candidates in their 2000 primary races for U.S. Senate and that the quality of their coverageslant of the story and discussion of their viability, appearance, and personalitywas mostly equitable. Still, women candidates are much more likely to be discussed in terms of their role as mothers and their marital status, which can affect how voters perceive their ability to serve as U.S. Senators and governors. And, confirming trends seen in their presentations in their political commercials and Web sites, male candidates are just as likelyand, in several cases, more soto be linked with feminine issues and image traits. Thus, male candidates appear to be co-opting some of the positive traits (e.g., honesty) and popular concerns (e.g., health care) voters have stereotypically associated with female candidates. In the final analysis, the overall equity of these women candidates primary coverage may have enhanced their viability11 of the 20 women included in this study won their primary races (6 for U.S. Senate and 5 for governor) and went on to the general election. In the general election, all 6 women vying for the

2012

AMERICAN BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST

U.S. Senate3 incumbents, 2 challengers, and 1 in an open racewon; 3 of the 5 women running in general election for governor won. And, that, is perhaps the best news.

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