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David Epstein

David Epstein is Professor of Political Science at Columbia University. He is an expert on U.S. politics, including presidential elections and the media; Congress and congressional-executive relations; and racial redistricting.  His fields of study also include game theory, statistics, and the politics of democratization.

Prof. Epstein is the author of Delegating Powers (Cambridge University Press), as well as over 20 articles in leading journals, including American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, and International Organization, with consulting engagements at the Pew Foundation, the State Failure Task Force, and the World Bank.

Why Negative Campaign Ads? They Work

By Brigitte L. Nacos 

Like U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan in his last reelection campaigns, Hillary Clinton, New York’s junior Senator, can afford a rare luxury even in her first reelection try: positive campaign ads that tell voters about the Senator’s good work in the service of New Yorkers. No need to even mention the opponent in the face of the broad support Senator Clinton (as Senator Moynihan earlier) enjoys in New York City, the surrounding areas, and in upstate regions as Washington Post columnist David Ignatius experienced the other day. But unless a race is widely perceived as decided before Election Day, campaigns turn to negative ads that attack the opponents' character, judgment, or policy positions—or all of the above. Unlike positive, image-building campaign ads, attack ads work because they get attention.