Publication |
2011.
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Summary/Abstract |
As the effectiveness of short-term campaigns is uncertain, politicians and
campaigners are increasingly adopting permanent campaigns. In this process,
midterm elections are a cost-effective vehicle for senior politicians to build
relationships with local candidates while promoting their own candidacies.
Previous research on celebrity endorsement and the coattail effect has primarily
focused on the results of political endorsement, while overlooking the process
of such activities. More importantly, few studies have addressed how local
politicians perceive the embedment of their own campaign into their senior
colleague's permanent campaign.
The authors of this article conducted four in-depth interviews with
local officials, the transcripts of which were analyzed using an interpretive
approach. Our finding highlights magistrates and mayors' worries about
being marginalized by the president. Furthermore, they believe that local
affairs should be dealt with locally, and that involving the president is a
sign of weakness. Theoretical and managerial implications of this research
are discussed in relationship to the literature on coattail effect, endorsement
strategy, and permanent campaigning.
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