The 2006 Colorado gubernatorial campaign: The efficacy of the functional theory of political campaign discourse

This study investigates newspaper coverage of the 2006 Colorado gubernatorial campaign based on the functional theory of political campaign discourse—a technique that heretofore has been used in the study of presidential election campaigns, but not gubernatorial elections. A content analysis of candidate-generated news stories showed acclaims are more frequent than attacks, which are more frequent than defenses. In addition, the study found that the Democratic candidate discussed policy issues more frequently than the Republican candidate who discussed character issues more frequently. The candidate who discussed policy issues most frequently won the election. Finally, the study showed that there was not a relationship between the candidate who was behind in the polling data and the frequency that they attacked the leading candidate's character and policies.