Dems negative more often than GOP in ads

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Democrats, faced with the possibility of losing control of the U.S. House Tuesday, have gone negative against their campaign opponents, a study indicates.

Because running on accomplishments not embraced by voters isn't working, Democrats have tried to frame the election as a matter of choice, painting opponents in advertising as "too extreme," The Washington Post reported Friday.

The Wesleyan Media Project advertising analysis indicates Democratic candidates are running a greater percentage of negative ads and are more likely to attack their opponents' personal characteristics, not their policy positions.

"Republicans are substantively more policy-focused," Michael Franz, a Bowdoin College professor who worked on the study, told the Post. "The policy environment really isn't favorable to Democrats. Trying to run on that record just isn't going to play that well."

Data indicate 29 percent of Democratic House and Senate candidates' ads are negative, up from 13 percent in 2008. Meanwhile, attack ads generated by Republican candidates dropped from 28 percent to 21 percent.

Thirty-five percent of the negative ads run by Democrats focused exclusively on policy, while Republicans were focused solely on policy 57 percent of the time.