LAUSR

Pundits and the popular press believe that the narratives about the candidates' personalities during the campaign influence the outcome of the election. Political scientists, in contrast, are dismissive of this influence. Instead, Political Scientists view the narrative about candidates as a sideshow and any connection between voters' impressions of the candidates' personalities and their vote as epiphenomenal. Unfortunately, the academic literature never directly measures the key concept of interest: the movement in image of the candidates' personalities during the campaign. Drawing on the connection between language and personality, particularly the Big Five model of personality, this paper demonstrates that the images of the candidates’ personalities in the 2008 election shape the standing of the candidates among the electorate. The results suggest that the image projected of the candidates in the campaigns played an influential role in the outcome of the election.