Homeland Security

2002 Midterm Elections

The atmosphere of bipartisanship that had existed over the issue of homeland security in the weeks and months following the terrorist attacks soon dissipated in the wake of the 2002 midterm election season. During the election, in which one-third of the members of the Senate and the entire House of Representatives went up for re-election, candidates and their campaign strategists no longer treated homeland security as if it were a neutral issue; rather, many sought to exploit the issue in their campaigns in order to attract voters.

At a Republican National Committee event held in January 2002, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove stated that the Republican Party should run on homeland security and terrorism, as doing so would be gainful for the upcoming elections. Republican candidates heeded his advice, and the issue quickly came to dominate their campaign agendas. Campaigning on security-related issues, moreover, was not unprecedented [Page 305]for the Republican Party. In fact, the Republicans have had a history beginning in the 1950s of running on such issues. As a result of this pattern, the party is strongly perceived by both its affiliates and non-affiliates as “owning” security issues.

During the 2002 midterm elections, the Republican Party attempted to exploit this perception by communicating to voters that Republicans were better equipped to protect Americans from terrorist attacks. Attack ads were one of the popular means through which candidates transmitted this message to the electorate. The “Courage” ad aired by Republican Congressman Saxby Chambliss was one of the better known and controversial ads. Vying with Max Cleland, the popular Democratic incumbent and Vietnam veteran, for the Georgia Senate seat, Saxby sought to attract voters by using images of terrorists to suggest that Cleland was an inadequate defender of homeland security. Many took great offense at the attack on Cleland, given his military and political achievements. Chambliss modified the ad's images, but defended the accuracy of its message. While attack ads are not always effective, Republicans considered the “Courage” ad (and its modification) a success, as it led to Chambliss' solid victory over the veteran politician, with 53 percent of the votes.

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