Does gender shape campaign communication? Drawing on an original dataset of candidate tweets across six election cycles, Chicks Who Tweet demonstrates that gender systematically shapes congressional campaign messaging. Not only does gender predict the issues candidates emphasize, but also the tone of their communication and their strategic decisions to engage in negative campaigning. Even after controlling for partisanship, incumbency status, district competitiveness, and overall tweeting volume, gender remains a robust and statistically significant predictor of issue emphasis.

Working to reclaim the label “chicks,” the authors show that women candidates are acutely aware of the gendered stereotypes that shape voter expectations and media coverage. Women candidates tweet more frequently than men and are more likely to criticize their opponents. However, they often face backlash to negative campaigning that men do not. Interviews with campaign communication directors and staff further illuminate how strategic messaging decisions are filtered through gendered expectations about credibility, likability, and leadership. The authors also look at how race and ethnicity interact with gender to shape issue framing and agenda-setting strategies. Although social media platforms offer women candidates new avenues to articulate representational claims and mobilize supporters, Chicks Who Tweet shows that gendered double standards still constrain strategic choices and contribute to ongoing disparities in congressional representation.

Jennifer Hayes Clark is Professor of Political Science at the University of Houston.
Heather K. Evans is John Morton Beaty Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise.