Spitzenkandidaten im Wahlkampf

This articles investigates the degree to which the image of political candidates can experience change during the campaign, by campaigning on the one hand and by the political coverage of the mass media on the other. Empirical analyses of the Northrhine-Westphalian state election of May 14, 2000, are based on longitudinal survey data for the five weeks before the election and a cross-sectional pre-election study representative of Northrhine-Westphalia. For three effect criteria — first the information the population holds about the leading candidates, second the evaluation of various candidate qualities, and third the weight candidate evaluation carries for the voting decision — it is shown that both effects of campaigning and effects of media coverage on political attitudes and the voting decision can be identified.