Political Recruitment via Television Ads in a Two-Party System

The dynamics of recruitment within a two political party system that influence individuals through party member contact and television advertising are explored via a mathematical contagion model that includes a population of committed party members and a population of “undecided” or “susceptible” individuals. The contagion model supports multiple outcomes including two-party coexistence. In order to examine the effect of ads and membership on the population in a two party system, we first examine each influence separately. This model supports ads having a signification impact on the amount of members in each party, addresses the impact of resources and sets the stage for framework expansions for other recruitment strategies.