Gender/issue interaction in political identity making: Nebraska's woman vs. woman gubernatorial campaign

Abstract

An emerging area of communication study is the process by which women seeking elective office construct their political identity. This essay engages that literature examining the historic 1986 Nebraska gubernatorial race as a case study. Two interrelated findings emerged from the study including: (1) gender perceptions were a factor even in this “genderless” election, and (2) each candidate's political identity was constructed through the interaction of gender characteristics and candidate issue positions.