Most Say Negative TV Ads Backfire on Candidates Who Use Them
As the hopefuls for the Republican presidential nomination whale away at each other in TV ads in key states, most Americans continue to say negative ads are not necessary and actually backfire on the candidates who air them.
Fifty-five percent (55%) of American Adults say it is possible for a candidate to win an election without criticizing his or her opponent. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 30% disagree. Fifteen percent (15%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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The survey of 1,000 American Adults was conducted on January 4-5, 2016 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
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