Abstract
The language journalists use to describe politicians has the ability to influence the way voters perceive candidates, and this influence increases during moments of low information like the primaries of a campaign (Peacock et. al, 2021). The power of media framing coupled with language that is known to be harmful to political candidates serves as the jumping point for my research (Lay et. al, 2019). In this project I examine whether the presence of Black women in a congressional primary correlates with media coverage that is more focused on the viability, electability, and competitiveness in comparison to campaigns that do not have Black women present. I hypothesize that campaigns with women of color receive less coverage in comparison to campaigns with only white women who ran in the 2020 primaries. I also hypothesize that campaigns with women of color have more coverage that focuses on the electability and viability of the candidates. To test these hypotheses, I conduct a content analysis of American-based newspapers that cover the 32 campaigns I have selected for this project (16 races with no women of color and only white women running and 16 races with at least one Black woman running). These results will contribute to work that seeks to understand how gender and race operate intersectionally in electoral politics and how they may shape the electoral chances of Black women running for office.