October 2016
Words Matter
Language to motivate the base and persuade
swing voters when talking about Republicans
@GSG
www.globalstrategygroup.com
GSG Compass — October 2016
1
Heading into the final days of the election season, campaigns are preparing their closing
arguments to voters. And with voter distrust at an all-time high, the words campaigns use to
describe their Republican opponent matter. We asked base and swing voters to choose from
a group of 24 words which best describe their concerns about voting for a Republican.
Overly ideological language is not as
effective with swing voters. Instead of
choosing words like “extreme,” “radical,”
and “polarizing” to describe their concerns
about Republican candidates, swing voters
choose behavior-based language such as
“out-of-touch” and “unreasonable.” Ideological terms are more effective among
base voters, but still not as motivating as
behavior-based language.
How base and swing voters describe their concerns about
voting for Republican candidates for Congress
53
51
41
38
37
Base voters are self-identifying Democrats who definitely
are voting for the Democratic candidate on the generic
ballot for Congress. Swing voters either self-identify
as independent, Republican or Democrat but are not
definitely voting for their party’s candidate on the generic
ballot for Congress.
33
34
3
10
26
7
29
25
19
0
1
26
26
26
% of respondents who choose word as a “concern”
about voting for Republican candidates for Congress
7
2
36
39
42
31
29
31
16
19
37
33
2
26
7
45
32
8
28
49
33
3
29
20
40
16
26
45
12
29
www.globalstrategygroup.com
3
52
48
16
35 1
@GSG
7
33
15
8
54
3
11
40
53
27
26
21
55
Base
Swing
Difference
GSG Compass — October 2016
2
But Republicans come in all shapes and sizes. We tested five distinct Republican profiles —
a social conservative, a corporate conservative, a Trump supporter, a DC insider, and a hard
partisan — to see which words are most concerning for each. For each type of Republican, we
outline the words to use when speaking to swing voters and base voters, words to avoid, and
words that motivate one group more than the other.
Social Conservative
The same core words — “unreasonable”
and “out-of-touch” — should be used
to describe a socially conservative
candidate who hopes to outlaw abortion,
defund Planned Parenthood, and remove
guaranteed equal rights for the LGBT
community. Democratic candidates speaking to their base, however, should also
point to how “offensive” and “extreme”
these policies are, whereas candidates
appealing to swing voters should stick
largely to “unreasonable” and “out-of-touch.”
Words that motivate
Words that persuade
How we profiled
a social conservative
Republican candidate John Smith
wants to outlaw abortion and take
away a woman’s right to make her
own health care decisions. John
Smith wants to eliminate funding for
Planned Parenthood, and opposes
both equal pay for equal work and
equal rights for gay people.
Words that are less effective with both groups include
“right-wing,” “polarizing,” and “divisive.”
Base
@GSG
www.globalstrategygroup.com
Swing
Difference
GSG Compass — October 2016
3
Corporate Conservative
Voters fear economic conservatives
are “unreasonable,” “irresponsible,”
and “greedy.” Voters also describe these
economically conservative candidates
who would cut taxes for the wealthy at the
expense of the middle class as immoral,
labeling them “unethical” and “corrupt,”
with swing voters more likely to use
“corrupt” than base voters.
How we profiled
a corporate conservative
Republican candidate John Smith
would push for an economic agenda
that provides big tax cuts for the
wealthy and big corporations while
increasing taxes on middle class families and cutting funding for important
programs such as Medicare, Social
Security, and education.
Words that motivate
Words that persuade
67%
81%
65%
52%
Words that are less effective with both groups include
“reckless,” “elitist,” “deceptive,” and “ultra-conservative.”
Base
@GSG
www.globalstrategygroup.com
Swing
Difference
GSG Compass — October 2016
4
Trump Supporter
While it’s tempting to label a candidate
who has endorsed Trump as “divisive,”
voters reserve that label for Trump
himself, not for those Republicans who
support him. It is far more effective to
call a Trump supporter “irresponsible”
and “out-of-touch.” Candidates should
also define this type of opponent as
“unreasonable” when targeting swing
voters in particular, and “dangerous” and
“offensive” when appealing to the base.
Words that motivate
Words that persuade
How we profiled
a Trump supporter
Republican candidate John Smith
strongly endorses Donald Trump for
President despite the statements
Trump has made about women,
minorities, and disabled Americans
that show Trump lacks the temperament to be President. And John
Smith supports Trump despite the
fact that national security experts
from both parties say Trump is unfit
to be Commander-in-Chief.
Words that are less effective with both groups include
“divisive,” “polarizing,” “impulsive,” and “dysfunctional.”
Base
@GSG
www.globalstrategygroup.com
Swing
Difference
GSG Compass — October 2016
5
DC Insider
Voters are overwhelmingly concerned
that D.C. insiders are “corrupt” and
“greedy.” While both base and swing
voters fear that a candidate who takes
money and rigs the system is “dishonest,”
the term resonates far more with swing
voters who overall tend to be more fearful
of ethical breaches and immoral behavior
by our politicians.
Words that motivate
Words that persuade
How we profiled
a DC insider
Republican Congressman John Smith
is in the pocket of big donors and
lobbyists who rig the systems for
themselves and against the middle
class. John Smith has accepted
hundreds of thousands of dollars in
contributions from powerful special
interests and then voted to support
their agenda instead of looking out
for the interests of regular people.
Words that are less effective with both groups include
“reckless,” “elitist,” “dysfunctional,” and “obstructionist.”
Base
@GSG
www.globalstrategygroup.com
Swing
Difference
GSG Compass — October 2016
6
Hard Partisan
Even when faced with a partisan
who always toes the Republican Party
line instead of getting things done in
Congress, voters don’t use ideological
words to describe their concerns. Base
voters choose decision-oriented words like
“unreasonable” and “inflexible,” whereas
swing voters opt for values-based words
and phrases such as “typical politician”
and “dishonest.”
Words that motivate
Words that persuade
How we profiled
a hard partisan
Republican Congressman John Smith
puts his own party ahead of what’s
best for the country. John Smith has
voted with the leaders of the Republican Party in Congress over 95% of
the time since taking office, even
supporting things like shutting down
the federal government instead of
working to find common ground and
get things done.
Words that are less effective with both groups include
“divisive,” “ultra-conservative,” “polarizing,” and “radical.”
Base
@GSG
www.globalstrategygroup.com
Swing
Difference
www.globalstrategygroup.com
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Methodology: This edition of GSGCompass references the results of a nationwide online survey of 844 registered voters conducted by Global Strategy Group from September
9-12, 2016. Special care has been taken to ensure that partisan, geographic, and demographic divisions are properly represented by the survey’s respondents.