Question Bias and Violations of Comparability in Intraparty Debates: Iowa and New Hampshire, 2004

Abstract

Televised political debates are highly effective tools for familiarizing prospective voters with the field of candidates during primary campaigns. However, the questions journalists ask in such debates often diminish the degree to which viewers can truly compare one candidate to the next. An analysis of questions asked in two debates at the height of the 2004 primaries finds the standard of comparability repeatedly violated as well as a clear pattern of inequity in the distribution of questions among candidates. Questions asked in these crucial debates imposed labels and domains on the candidates, through a particularly hostile line of questioning directed at the viable contenders. This article provides a tool for identifying question bias and emphasizes the need to address this understudied aspect of debates in light of its importance.

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