Edmund Muskie's 1958 Senate Campaign

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Elections are a fundamental part to American politics. There are a lot of factors that play into how elections carry themselves, but what is more important is the work that goes into preparing for them. The elections are like the Baseball World Series and the campaigning is all the training that you have done before hand. Elections are the important part of the game, but without all the campaigning that is done there can be no elections. Candidates are wise and know that campaigning is a true make or break when it comes time to vote. The campaigning process is a time to try and get to know the voters and create a certain kind of connection that would result with more followers. Congressional campaigns, unlike Presidential campaigns, are directed to the districts where they can have more personal relationship with their constituents, which would help them win more votes.

In the 1958 in Senate campaign in Maine, Edmund Muskie used many different components to appeal to his voters. The campaign devoted some of its resources to the audience in a way that made them more aware of Edmund Muskie as a candidate. The Muskie campaign used advertisements that used simple language to help voters choose and understand what they were reading. An examination of television commercial time, political mailings, and newspaper advertisements in the months leading to the election reveals the way that the Muskie campaign enamored the people.

Edmund Muskie was born March 28, 1914, to Stephen and Josephine Muskie in Rumford, Maine; Muskie was the second of six children. Edwin Muskie excelled in high school and received a scholarship to a nearby institution, Bates College. He graduated with a bachelor in arts in 1936 and went on to purse a law career a...

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... lot of Muskie’s speeches used simple language to help the audience understand and allow them to feel more comfortable with the message in the speech. Muskie’s campaign was a “For the People” campaign. This means that it was devoted to teaching the people of Maine about the changes that Muskie wanted to make once elected as Senator. He focused his campaign on environmental and international policy. He delivered this message in a way that affected the voters. Edmund Muskie’s use of emotional influence as part of his congressional campaign definitely changed the way his constituents voted.

Works Cited

Muskie, Edmund S. Archives and Special

Collections Library, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine.

“September 8, 1958
Mid-term Revolution”, United State Senate, accessed February 3rd, 2012,http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Mid_term_Revolution.htm

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