Candidates in the upcoming 2018 US House election should communicate consistent and clear policy positions to maximize votes

Communication strategies matter in elections. Candidates can be ambiguous in how they speak to the public by avoiding clear positions and strong statements or they can communicate by taking clear and consistent stances on issues. How do voters respond to these different strategies? In new research Christine Cahill and Walter J. Stone find that voters tend to feel more negatively about candidates who are more ambiguous in their statements. With this in mind, they argue that candidates in the upcoming 2018 election should clearly and consistently communicate their policy positions to the electorate in order to maximize their chance of winning.