How Do Voters First Learn About Candidates?

It may be hard to keep track of all the presidential candidates so far. As primary season kicks into full gear, all 17 presidential candidates released their first quarter fundraising numbers. Most candidates are trying to distinguish themselves from the pack to propel their campaign, and their fundraising, to the next level.

According to the Video Advertising Bureau, television is still the medium where voters first learn about a candidate, making this source important for candidates to utilize especially during the early parts of the campaign. Seven in ten voters in the VAB survey first learned about a political candidate or issue over the TV, while about 37 percent reported first learning about a candidate or issue with TV news and website apps.

Other mediums like newspapers, social media, and direct mail registered much lower levels of first contact for voters. In fact, VAB found that about 56 percent of adults don’t even open emails from candidates. VAB also that during the throws of an election almost three-quarters of voters rely on television to keep them informed about political candidates and issues, and about six in then report that TV is the biggest influence on their final decision when voting for political candidates and understanding issues.