There is some disagreement. In Iowa, Steve Forbes was hurt severely by his flurry of negative ads against his opponents. Bob Dole was damaged somewhat by his ads in New Hampshire. But while the voters and many in the press express disgust over the ads, the campaigns continue to run them. Dole complained that ads against him were responsible for a huge drop-off of his favorable ratings in the polls.
Some experts say the ads firm up the support of highly partisan backers.
In Iowa and New Hampshire, there were so many commercials that the press had difficulty keeping up with them. However, several news organizations do assign reporters to evaluate the attack ads for accuracy and truth. Anger over the ads was a major factor in a low turnout of voters in Iowa. And in New Hampshire, where there was a record turnout, many voters said they wanted to deliver a message against the heavy use of negative ads.