Because they work:
While some voters say they react negatively to negative ads, Professor David Schultz of Hamline University says the contrary.
“Negative attack ads work, according to psychologists, simply because they also hit us with emotional feelings that we might not be able to control,” said Shultz.
Negative ads are usually seen closest to election time and are aimed at a particular kind of voter. Campaigns often have two goals when it comes to attack ads as well. “Organizations that use negative ads do that,” Schultz said, “to turn swing voters off, against their opponents, or to make sure swing voters just don’t vote on Election Day.Â