An Analysis of the Campaign Context in the U.S.: How
did Political Parties Use Social Media in the 2014
Midterm Election Campaign?
Keywords:
Contextual Factors, Political Parties, Super PAC, Political Consultants, Social Media

Shoko KIYOHARA, Meiji University

Abstract
Contextual factors influence the ways in which social media are used in elections. By observing
the 2014 U.S. midterm election campaign, this paper will consider the impact of social media on
political parties, the new professionalization of campaigns, and campaign finance reform. It will
first address political parties’ use of social media in the election campaign. Second, it will discuss
which new trends in the professionalization of campaigns have been instigated by new media.
Third, it will examine the role of super PACs and 501 (c)(4) organizations in the current campaign
finance regulatory regime. These questions will be tackled in this paper based on interviews withthose who played a firsthand role in the campaigns, newspapers, professional journals, and official
documents, including political parties’ websites. In conclusion, it will reveal three significant
contextual factors to consider in the polarized social media environment of American election
campaigns. One is that political parties use social media to advertise their campaigns to voters,
while they still prefer to use e-mails as a fundraising source. Another is how the changing media
environments affect media consultants and other types of political consultants. The more digitaltechnology advances, the more the circumstance of political consultants changes. The otherfactor is that super PACs play an important role in providing plentiful campaign finance forcandidates, although there are regulations banning coordination with individual candidates’
campaigns under the current regulatory system. Thus, in the American election system andfundraising mechanism, will American political parties really have more presence in the election
campaigns by using digital media? To further research on this topic, this question needs to beconsidered in depth.

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Facebook than are typical Facebook users. Here,

1. Introduction“typical Facebook users” means, “Facebook
Contextual factors such as characteristics ofusers who see at least some posts about

the political party system, regulation of electoral

governments and politics on Facebook and pay atprocesses, political culture, and the roles of old

least some attention to them” (Pew Researchand new media in election campaigns influence

Center 2014b, 7).

the ways in which social media are used in

On the other hand, consistent liberals onelections. By observing the 2014 U.S. midterm

Facebook tend to block or unfriend someone onelection campaign, it will consider the impact ofsocial media if they disagree with something thatsocial media on political parties, campaign

person posted about politics (Pew Researchfinance reform, and the new professionalization

Center 2014b, 4-7). Thus, in the polarized socialof campaigns in the U.S. Consequently, it will

media sphere, the following question will besuggest further discussions on examining

addressed: how are political parties using social

American election campaigns using social media

media to foster their relationship with voters?

in comparison with other countries.

Next, the paper will give an overview of the new

It will first address political parties’ use ofregulatory environment around campaign finance.

social media in the election campaign. There is

In the U.S., public funding is only available fordeeper partisan antipathy and starker politicalpresidential elections. The regulation of campaign

polarization in the U.S. than at any point during

financing was established by the 1972 Federal

the last two decades (Pew Research Center

Election Campaign Act (FECA). The FECA has

2014a, 6). Moreover, ideological overlap between

imposed strict contribution limits and disclosure

the two parties has declined, and the rise of

requirements on candidates and national party

ideologicalhascommittees. These statutory provisions based onincreased negative views of the opposite party

consistency

withinparties

FECA and subsequent rules adopted under the(Pew Research Center 2014a, 6).

2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)

Furthermore, political polarization prevails inwere not altered in advance of the 2012 election

the current American social media community. It(Corrado 2014, 47). The regulatory environment

has affected voters’ media habits, including theirarounduse of social media. Liberals and conservatives

changed as a result of the Supreme Court’s 2010

get political news from different news sources

decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election(Pew Research Center 2014b, 1). ConsistentCommission and subsequent legal and regulatory

conservatives prefer Fox News as their primarydecisions (Corrado 2014, 46−47). The newnews source, while consistent liberals preferregulatory environment around campaign finance

CNN and MSNBC. There is little overlap in thehas brought wealthy new political actors known asnews sources upon which each group relies.

“super PACs” into election campaigns. They are

Similarly, voters’ social media spheres are divided

considered to play an important role in campaign

between right and left. The report indicates that

financing.

campaign

financehasdramaticallyconsistent conservatives are more likely to see

There are also critical organizations defined asfavorable political opinions and views on“Section 501(c) organizations,” which are named
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after the applicable section of the Internal

will highlight the 2014 midterm election.

Revenue Code. The Center for Responsive

However, these questions will be addressed in

Politics claims that spending by social welfare

light of trends in the 2012, and 2016 presidential

groups known as “501(c)(4) organizations” forcampaigns as well.

the applicable provision of the tax code has

2. Context: Political Parties

dramatically increased in past election cycles(Center for Responsive Politics 2015a). Thus, the(1)Social Media as New Campaign Ads

following question will be examined: what are therole of super PACs and 501(c)(4) organizations inIn the U.S., every presidential election since

the current campaign finance regulatory regime?

2000 has showed us phases of campaign Internet

Third, the paper will discuss professionalizationuse. Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign became aand the rise of a new class of political

blueprint for American political parties on how tocommunication specialists in the social media

approach social media (Owen 2013, 238). Owenelection campaign. While political consultants(2013, 246-247) claims that political parties’

have long played important roles in American

approaches to social media have changed in the

campaigns,

ofpost-2008 election era and that the digital

broadband and mobile phones, a new class of

campaign played a more central role for the

specialists is required to manage campaign social

Democratic and Republican parties in the 2012

media, for example, by making campaign

election than before. In the background, more

advertising available on voters’ mobile devices

and more registered voters have followed political(Kiyohara 2013, 35−36).

parties on Facebook and Twitter (Pew Research

with

a

rapid

proliferation

Center 2014c, 3).

As the Federal Communications Commission’s(FCC) 16 report (2015, 4-5) on competition in the

The Democratic National Committee (DNC)

market for the delivery of video programing

and the Republican National Committee (RNC)

shows, the number of subscribers to cable TV has

attempt to appeal to voters to follow their

been declining. Patterns of consumer behavior

Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. As ofhave changed with the high penetration of digital

February 7, 2016, the DNC had 1,190,309 fans,video recorders (DVRs), mobile digital televisionand the RNC had 1,949,930 fans on Facebook. In(DTV), Video on Demand (VOD), and social

addition, the DNC had 463,050 followers, and the

media. This pattern of program consumption has

RNC had 563,995 followers on Twitter. Thechanged the political consultants’ world andnumbers show that both the RNC and the DNC

affected campaign ads. Thus, we ask: which newhave many fans and followers on Facebook andtrends in the professionalization of campaigns

Twitter. They both post content related to their

have been instigated by new media?

candidates and negative statements against theirthThese questions will be tackled in this paper

rivals, the electoral process, issues, and events,

based on interviews with those who played a

including ads. However, the reality is that few

firsthand role in the campaign, newspapers,

people pay attention to the political parties’

professional journals, and official documents,

engagements when posting and tweeting. The

including political parties’ websites. The paper

larger goals for the political parties in using social
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media are to gain attention through other media

service, you can create your own profile page likesources that would reach a much larger audience

Facebook, and, once you become “friends” with

(Owen 2013, 254−255).

someone, you will see what songs your “friend” isMoreover, social media is the tool that allows

hearing on Pandora. In a phone interview with thepolitical parties to deliver their messages toauthor, Sean Duggan, VP Advertising Sales,

voters without being filtered by traditional media

Pandora,(AP 2012). For example, a day before the GOP’s

information, including listeners’ zip codes, would

first TV debate of 2016 presidential candidates on

be very helpful to campaign micro-targeting. He

August 6, 2015—although a lot of traditional

identified over 560 campaigns that used Pandora

media such as CNN delivered information about

in 2014, while 180 campaigns did so in 2012. Basedthe event to voters—the DNC posted a three

on the large number of Pandora’s audience/minute, 27 second video called “Brush up on

listeners, more campaigns preferred to use it inbasic GOP terms before tomorrow’s debate” on2014 than previously (Duggan 2015).

also

mentionedthat

Pandora’s

its Facebook page. Similarly, social media enables

On the other hand, the Republican Party

political parties to deliver their messages to theirrecognizes that there remains a digital divide

voters directly. However, it is not always

between it and the Democratic Party. Since 2008,

interactive communication. In fact, for politicalthe Democrats are considered to have left theparties, social media plays a “broadcasting” role

Republicans far behind in social media use

in approaching voters. The national party

because the Obama campaign used it quite wellcommittees were said to have paid hundreds of

to win the presidential election. It is still uncertain

thousands of dollars for advertising on socialthat the Republicans have caught up with themedia (Willis 2014). Interestingly, it is not a tool

Democrats.

to communicate with voters interactively. Rather,For example, in an interview with the author,

like TV ads, it is to broadcast the political parties’

Democratic strategic consultant Andrew Feldman

messages to voters.

said, “I don’t think they are catching up because

In an interview with the author, Brandon English,
Digital

Director,

Democratic

database of voters for Democrats is better thanCongressional

Republicans (Feldman, 2015).” On the other hand,Campaign Committee (DCCC), also recognized thein a phone interview with the author, Republicanrole of social media in spreading information. For

pollster and political consultant Kristen Soltis

political parties, social media is a new political

Anderson said, “I don’t think there was a hugeadvertising channel. According to English, Internet

difference

radio and video ads are effective. English mentioned

Democrats as to the 2014 campaigns. Republicans

that TV ads had not been replaced by online ads,caught up with using data and social media

but digital media was very useful to combine users’significantly (Anderson, 2015).”

betweenthe

Republicans

anddemography and voters’ data profiles, which can

As for the 2012 presidential election, the RNC

allow the political party to do more micro-targeted

recognized there was a digital divide between the

campaign ads (English, 2015).

Republicans and Democrats. The RNC led thePandora is also an interesting new advertising

Growth and Opportunity Project under Chairman

channel. On Pandora, which is a music-streaming

Reince Priebus in December 2012. It announced
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how to grow the Republican Party and improve

political parties using for their online fundraising?

its campaigns, and highlighted the importance of

The short answer is that they prefer to use

using new media and more digital technology

e-mail rather than social media. To explain why, I

because it felt that the Republican Party wasshould mention that political parties play an

behind the Democrats (Barbour et al, 2014,

important role in redistributing campaign funds

24−25). Compared with the Democrats, the RNC

and redistribute the money from party leadersheld that building better data and analyzing theand safe incumbents to candidates who aredata were very important to improve its

running in close races. In addition, the DNC andcampaigns. It recommended that all media

RNC get more involved in congressional elections

incorporate social media and mobile phones into

(Herrnson et al, 2014, 149). Furthermore, thetheir media campaign plans because consumption

importanceof

programs by political parties’ efforts is reinforced

media

by

audience

wasincreasingly

fragmented (Barbour et al, 2014, 40). However, atofInternet-based

fundraising(Herrnson et al, 2014, 150).

this moment, it may be hard to tell whether or not

It is suggested that American political parties

Republicans will catch up with Democrats inare following the example of their European

digital strategy during the 2016 election cycle.

counterparts by transforming their presence incampaigns using digital media (Owen 2013, 247).

(2) E-mail Remained an Important FundraisingThat may be explained by the fact that politicalTool

parties play a more critical role in redistributing

Political parties see social media as a new

campaign fundraising.

advertising tool. Thus, another question should

I then would like to articulate why politicalbe considered here: how are they fundraising on

parties prefer e-mail as their fundraising tool. I

the Internet? American elections need massive

attended CampaignTech Conference East in

funds, and the amount of online donations has

Washington D.C. on April 21 and 22, 2015. One

been dramatically increasing.

panelist said that social media was similar toMany presidential candidates have started tobroadcasting, while e-mail was like one-on-one

use e-mails for their fundraising strategies sinceconversation. E-mail is considered to be a more

the early 2000s. Presidential candidates received

personal and effective social media tool in

online donations through their websites during

campaign fundraising.

the 2000 presidential election campaign (Bimber

The RNC also emphasizes that e-mail remains aand Davis 2003, 38−39).

very important source of fundraising and notes,

In addition, there was a new trend whereby“E-mail continues to generate significant revenues.

candidates asked for smaller, multiple donations

State parties and campaigns must invest in thevia social media, e-mail, telephone calls, and direct

data to continue to grow their working e-mail lists”

mail during the 2012 presidential election (Green(Barbour et al, 2014, 58). It recognizes a big

et al, 2014, 81). They indicate that not only Obama

growth in online fundraising as well, as the RNC

but also some Republican presidential candidates

added 1.2 million donor e-mails to their file and 2.2

such as Ron Paul had extensively used online

million additional e-mails (Barbour et al, 2014, 56).

fundraising (Green et al, 2014, 93). Thus, what are

The National Republican Senatorial Committee
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(NRSC) also acknowledges the importance of the

your (the candidate’s) e-mail list is” (Feldman

former presidential candidate’s e-mail list. Mat2015). It can be obviously said that e-mails remain

Lira, executive director of the NRSC, said thatfascinating tools for political parties’ fundraisinge-mail was the NRSC’s most successful digitalin the social media campaign era.

fundraising source (Miller, 2014). In 2012, theFurthermore, access to the voter database ofRomney campaign rented almost every GOP

the political party is crucial for presidential

e-mail list available to build its own list of contacts

candidates. In the 2016 presidential election

and donors. In 2014, the party used the Romney

campaign, access to political party’s voter

campaign’s list as the most important source list

databases is a big issue. The DNC shares a voter

for online donations. In October 2014, the NRSC

database with the presidential candidates who

emailed the list no fewer than 16 times in one

want to get its nomination. However, the DNC cut

week. E-mails were often addressed from

off the access by the campaign of Sen. Bernie

Romney,Republican

Sanders (I-Vt.) because the campaign breached

Congressional Committee (NRCC) also used it at

the firewall and accessed the voter data file of theleast once. However, not only the Republicans

Hillary Clinton campaign. The DNC charged that

but the DNC also used the e-mail list from themultiple staffers from the Sanders campaign

Obama campaign in 2012 (Miller, 2014).

downloaded the voter data of the Clinton

while

the

National

In 2012, thanks to the 2008 Obama campaign,

campaign (Brumfield, Merica, 2015). On thethe Democratic Party had the advantage of another hand, the Sanders campaign sued the DNC

e-mail list. Laura Olin, a Democratic strategist,in federal court and they said DNC tried toalso said, “E-mail is still going to be the mainundermine

driver. We had some success in 2012 with raising

Diamond, and Zeleny, 2015).

thecampaign(Treyz,Merica,money online with social, but compared to e-mailThus, it can be likely said that political parties

it was still a drop in the bucket. E-mail is still

have gained more presence in election campaigns,

going to be the most important fundraising tool

providing the good e-mail lists that candidates

in 2016” (Campaigns & Elections 2015, 28).

need.

In the interview with the author, Brandon

3. Context: Campaigning Money & Regulation

English also explained that e-mail played a moresignificant role in campaign fundraising and(1) Rise of Super PACs under the New

recruiting volunteers than social media because
social media could spread information but it wasRegulatory Regime

easier to move people to action over e-mailAs noted already, the basic federal regulationof campaign financing was enacted by the 1972

(English, 2015).
However, the important thing is whether or notFederal Election Campaign Act (FECA). The

parties and individual campaigns have a good

FECA has imposed strict contribution limits ande-mail list. In the interview with the author,

disclosure requirements on candidates andAndrew Feldman also said, “Online donation isnational party committees. In addition, thevery important. But social media fundraising

Federal Election Commission (FEC), which

doesn’t work well, and it will be up to how goodadministers and enforces the FECA, was21

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established by Congress in 1975. These statutory

unions, associations, and wealthy individuals,

provisions based on the FECA and subsequentand spend unlimited amounts to advocate for orrules adopted under the 2002 Bipartisan

against political candidates. However, the FEC

Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) did not change inprohibits them from directly donating to politicaladvance of the 2012 election (Corrado 2014, 47).

candidatesorcoordinatingwithpolitical

However, the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision

candidates on expenditures, such as campaign

in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

ads. In other words, super PACs should not be

and subsequent legal and regulatory decisions

coordinated with political candidates. Still, super

resulted in a new regulatory environment of

PACs

unrestrictedfinancialactivities

candidates, congressional leaders, and party

campaigns(Corrado

2014,

in

federal46−47).

The

movie

criticizing

have

close

connections

withleaders (Magleby and Goodliffe 2014, 216).

conservative group “Citizens United” produced adocumentaryoften

It is said that super PACs played an important

Democraticrole in financing TV ads during the 2012

presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and tried

presidential campaign (Kiyohara 2013, 31, 38).

to air it during the 2008 presidential campaign. In

For instance, “Restore Our Future,” which

opposition to their intentions, the FEC invokedsupported Romney, broadcast advertisements

the 2002 BCRA to stop “Citizens United” fromattacking Newt Gingrich because Gingrichairing the movie. “Citizens United” subsequently

jeopardized Romney’s lead in the polls before thefiled a lawsuit against the FEC that eventually

Iowa caucuses (Magleby and Goodliffe 2014,

made it to the Supreme Court, which found that228). Most super PACs spent a tremendous

the FEC had violated the First Amendment

amount of money on TV ads. Not only in(Kiyohara 2013, 30−31).

presidential elections, but also in congressional

The Supreme Court decision opened a newelections, super PACs played an important role inway for federal political committees called “superfinancing (Magleby and Goodliffe, 2014, 229).

PACs” to use unlimited contributions to expresslyWith regard to the 2014 senate election, superadvocate the election of candidates (Corrado

PACs comprised half of the top 10 Senate election

2014, 46). This phenomenon is based on the

spenders (Vandewalker, 2015a, p. 7).

Court’s majority ruling that the First Amendment

In the 2016 election cycle, super PACs havedoes not permit restrictions on speech based on

already helped presidential candidates. For

the identity of the speaker (Corrado 2014, 49). In

example, a super PAC backing Carly Fiorina, ashort, the Court’s decision permitted any

Republican presidential candidate, “is organizingorganization that is allowed to engage in politicalevents for the candidate in early nominating

activity to spend money independently in support

states, handling advance work and setting up

of candidates.

merchandise tables (Confessore, 2015).” Also,

The FEC thus implemented the decision inGold and Rucker (2015) reported that super2010 and approved super PACs as independent

PACs had played an extremely important role for

expenditures-only

fifteen Republican contenders that month.

committees

distinguishedfrom traditional PACs. Super PACs can raise

The intense race among many Republican

unlimited amounts of money from corporations,candidates causes candidates to run out of
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money.

The

formerTexasgovernoranddonors secret; on the other hand, standard

Republican candidate Rick Perry was short ofpolitical committees must disclose the donors

funding in early August 2015. His campaign wasunder the FEC guidelines (Schwartz, 2012).

no longer able to pay its staff. The Opportunity

They existed before the 2010 Supreme Court

and Freedom PAC, a super PAC supporting

decision. The IRS brought a regulation into effect

Perry, tried to backfill the campaign. Gold andin 1959, which meant that these groups were

Rucker (2015) quotes Austin Barbour, senior

allowed to participate in some political activities

adviser to the Opportunity and Freedom PAC:

as long as politics was not their main purpose“We knew we would have to do more than just(Center for Responsive Politics 2015b). However,paid media and there’s nothing in the playbook

in 2012, they were considered the most-interested

that says we can’t do that.” The pro-Perry effort

organizations since the number of such groups

was one of the most epochal examples of superincreased and since they rivaled super PACs in

PACs playing a very important role in the 2016

expenditures (Magleby and Goodliffe 2014,

presidential race (Gold and Rucker, 2015).

243−244).

Finally, Rick Perry withdrew from the presidential

The primary purpose of 501(c)(4) organizations’election campaign on September 11, 2015. It is

activities thus should not be political engagement,

too early to tell how long super PACs can prolong

while they can also receive unlimited donations

campaigns.

from corporations, individuals, or unions. These

As of September 2015, super PACs fund many

donations are not tax-deductible, in contrast to

candidates, and Republican super PACs, in

501(c)(3) organizations under the IRS code.

particular, have already raised or committed

Furthermore, there are some limitations on 501(c)hundreds of millions of dollars in the 2016(4) organizations getting involved in politicalelection. On the other hand, Democrats haveactivities. For example, they are not allowed totightergive money directly to candidates and endorse a

restrictions

on

super

PACs

than

Republicans, but super PACs will function toparticular

keep the race intense for a longer period

However, they can run ads mentioning issues(Confessore, 2015). Thanks to super PACs, cash-

such as regulations and taxes related to a

strapped campaigns will not need to withdraw

candidate, and lobby for particular causes. They

from the race immediately.

also do not have to disclose their donor lists to thecandidate(Johnson

2016,

231).

IRS except during audits (Johnson 2016, 231).

(2) 501(c) (4) Organizations and “Dark Money”

That is why these organizations’ donations are

Super PACs are not the only influential

often called “dark money” (Center for Responsive

organizations that should receive attention here.

Politics 2015a).

There are also some types of 501(c) groups

Many groups and political operatives thatcategorized by Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

formed super PACs also established affiliatedCode. Among them, nonprofit and social welfare

501(c)(4) organizations as they can provide

501(c)(4) organizations play an important role inchoice to donors who want to contribute a huge

campaign financing. Since their primary purposes

amount of money yet remain anonymous

are social welfare activities, they can keep their(Corrado 2014, 67). For example, the conservative
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501 (c)(4) organization, Crossroad GPS, and its

the number of subscribers to cable TV has beensister super PAC, American Crossroads spentdeclining. Broadcasters too are using various$48 million in the 2014 midterm election. Bothways to respond to consumers’ demands, whichorganizations have the same president, Stevenmeans that they are providing their programs not

Law. These two groups were the biggest outside

only on traditional TV but also on mobile DTV,

spenders in the midterms, excluding the parties

VOD, online video distribution, and social media

themselves (Vandewalker, 2015b). While(Federal Communications Commission 2015, 4).

Republican donors complained about both

The change of consumption patterns thus hasgroups for spending hundreds of millions ofaffected TV advertisements, and the revenue of

dollars in 2012, only to lose most of the races in

TV ads is decreasing (Lafayette, 2015).

which they campaigned (Goldmacher, 2014), theFor instance, in the interview with the author,

Center for Responsive Politics shows that their

Kristen Soltis Anderson answered, “I think very

success rate dramatically increased in the 2014

much so,” when I asked her, “Do you think

midterm election, as compared to the 2012change of media environment (consumption ofelection (Center for Responsive Politics, 2012,

TV programing from cable to online) affects2014).

political consultants’ jobs? (Anderson, 2015)” In
addition, in an interview with the author,

4. Context: Change of Professionalization

Democratic

political

media

and

creative

consultant Colin Rogero admitted that people’s
It is quite well known that political consultants

viewing habits had changed, although TV washave played a big role in U.S. election campaigns.

still the primary information source for them. He

The development of political consultants promoted

commented about campaign ads in the 2014

the development of election campaigns from party-

midterm election, “The old way doesn’t work wellcentered to candidate-centered (Herrnson 2013,

anymore.” He also suggested that 30 seconds for

136). Furthermore, campaigns are considered toTV ads was still standard because of costdepend heavily on various political consultants

effectiveness and repeat messages, but mostsuch as media teams, pollsters, and direct-mailInternet and mobile ads are 15 seconds long. He

specialists (Johnson 2016, 235).

emphasized that the percentage of media budgets

Since the 1990s, a transformation has occurred,

allocated for digital advertising for campaigns

which means professional political consultants

would continue to grow (Rogero, 2014).

have played a significant role in advising even

In an interview with the author, veteranthose who run for office below the statewide

Democraticlevel, and political consultants make key decisions

suggested that popular media consumption had

and strategy as well as develop campaignchangedcommunications for the clients (Johnson 2016,

concerned, he signified that people were15). However, Johnson (2016, 15) remarks thatwatching programming on Apple TV and Amazon

new digital technology such as mobile and thePrime rather than on network TV and cable TV.

Internet is leading to another conversion.

As for changing political consultants, since the

As indicated previously, according to the FCC,

media

rapidly.

consultant
Where

Peter

advertising

Fenn
was

way of media consumption was transformed,
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Fenn attached significance to reaching votersregulations banning coordination with individual

who depended on smartphones and skipped TV

candidates’

ads on their DVRs. He commented, “people areregulatory system. New outside groups, including

relying on social media, so that creativeness issuper PACs and 501(c)(4) organizations, aremore important to media consultants. (Fenn,considered to fund the candidates indirectly to2015)”.

fight intense races. The other factor is how the

campaigns

under

the

current

Furthermore, as campaign strategies arechanging media environments affect media

becoming more and more digitalized such as

consultants and other types of political consultants.

through use of social media and creation of

It is interesting that, in the interview with thesophisticated data to reach voters, American

author, Colin Rogero said, “The old way doesn’t

election campaigns need more and morework well anymore” (Rogero, 2014). The moreconsultants. In the interview with the author,

digital technology advances, the more theAndrew

data

circumstance of political consultants changes. It isconsultants came into election campaigns as new

rapidly changing; thus we need to observe

consultants. He told me that they played an

carefully how it is advancing.

Feldmanemphasizedthat

important role in creating models for how

As a closing statement, the paper covers

campaigns could reach voters online (Feldman,

contextual factors to provide further discussions2015).

on examining American election campaigns

Thus, changes in programming consumption

using social media in comparison with otherpatterns affect both TV advertising and the way

countries. For example, unlike in the U.S., themedia consultants work in election campaigns.

Japanese election system is more party-centered.

Not only that, but the more they are digitalized,

In Japan, there is a public subsidy system forthe more consultants are needed in campaigns. It

political parties, in line with the Political Party

is clear that more sophisticated digital technology

Subsidy Act passed in 1994. Because of thisis transforming the role of political consultants.

public subsidy system, candidates for public
offices in Japan do not need to put as much effort

5. Conclusion

into fundraising as politicians in the United States
do, although online contributions are graduallyThis paper reveals three significant contextual

increasing in Japan (Chen & Kiyohara, 2015).

factors to consider in the polarized social media

On the contrary, in the U.S., public funding isenvironment of American election campaigns.

available only for the presidential election.

One is that political parties use social media to

Furthermore,

advertise their campaigns to voters, while theyreceive the public funding, they have to agree tostill prefer to use e-mails as a fundraising source.

limit campaign spending to a specified amount.

Political parties also have the advantage of goodPresidential candidates feel the public funding

voters’ email lists to candidates for fundraising in

has few advantages (Kiyohara, 2011, pp. 10-12).

campaigns. Another is that super PACs play an

Outsider groups such as super PACs play animportant role in providing plentiful campaign

important role in financing the campaigns.

finance for candidates, although there areonce

presidential

candidatesThus, in the American election system and25

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An Analysis of the Campaign Context in the U.S.: How did Political Parties Use Social Media in the 2014 Midterm Election Campaign? KIYOHARA

fundraising mechanism, how will the relationshipbetweencandidates

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