Raising Arizona: a visual rhetorical analysis of Kyrsten Sinema's and Martha McSally's 2018 campaign announcement videos
This study examines the visual and verbal components of Kyrsten Sinema’s and Martha McSally’s campaign video announcements as both candidates competed for the 2018 Arizona Senate. The primary research objective was to understand how the audience demographics and the rhetorical situation faced by each candidate affected the choice of visual components for the persuasion of potential voters. The study concludes that the visual messages were chosen primarily to appeal to each candidate’s supporting viewers. Sinema’s message, however, was more intersectional in that it appealed to a larger body of potential voters across party lines. The candidates appeal to voters using difference visual and verbal strategies to accomplish increasing voter intensity among current supporters and appealing to voters who might initially prefer their opponent.
Broadcast and Video Studies, Critical and Cultural Studies, Mass Communication, Social Influence and Political Communication
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