ABSTRACT
The idea of integrating survey research into campaigns blossomed during the 1970s and was standard operating procedure by the 1980s. There are four key elements to a winning campaign. The key elements are candidate quality, a focused message, enough money and a strong grassroots operation. Many decisions about campaign strategy and tactics revolve around the name identification and images of the two candidates, as well as the images of the other key players in the race. Perhaps aside from the introduction of the candidate to the voters, the decisions on how to handle negatives are the most important ones of the campaign. The campaign team often has to establish credibility with several key players in the race. The important aspect of questionnaire order on a political poll is to ensure that message testing comes after the collection of information about the current state of the race.
