ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the 2006 Senate race in Tennessee and gives close attention to Harold Ford's electoral strategy and crossover appeal to moderate and conservative voters. It explains how racial cues or symbolic appeals that prime racial stereotypes can limit the potential effectiveness of crossover or deracialized campaigns. The chapter discusses how the Republican National Committee racialized what had essentially been a deracialized campaign by Ford. The Republican National Committee-sponsored attack ads raised additional concerns about the effectiveness of deracialization and the normalizing strategies, and whether they can prevail over sophisticated efforts to racially prime, race-neutral campaigns. Despite the contention by some researchers that negative attacks backfire and demobilize voter turnout, some political observers give credence to their effectiveness. The only jurisdictional indicator that significantly influenced the election was region. Middle and western Tennessee voters, compared to those from eastern Tennessee, were more likely to vote for Corker.
