THE MOBILIZATION OF US-STATE-ELECTORATES IN THE 1988 AND 1990 ELECTIONS

Considering a range of political mobilization questions, this study ex amines the turnout of U.S. state electorates in the 1988 and 1990 elec tions. High stimulus presidential, gubernatorial, and senatorial campa igns encourage participation, controlling for the structuring influenc e of state sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., levels of education , age, and urbanization). Relying on an analytic framework that concep tualizes state electorates within a stream of differentiated electoral information, the analyses also reveal the importance of distinguishin g among campaigns and across electoral settings. In an on-year, an ove rriding stimulus from the presidential contest markedly attenuates the role of lower-level contests in mobilizing a state's citizenry. In an off-year, similar to their relative influence on electoral outcomes, high-profile campaigns on the part of gubernatorial and senatorial cha llengers appear to be more important than the campaigns of incumbents in getting voters to the polls.