Lois Zerrer talks with Nora Cox, instructor in the Communications Department at Missouri State University. She teaches political speech writing and does special study on political communications.
Off-year elections tend to get less attention from the public than presidential elections, according to Cox.
Several gubernatorial seats, all members of the House of Representatives and some Senate seats are up for re-election November 4th. Local seats are up for a vote as well.
Civic discourse, Cox says, is public communication, including advertising. It regards the level of civility in that discourse, according to Cox.
With Citizen United, she says, there's been an influx of more money into campaigns.
A recent study, she says, showed that ads are more negative in this cycle than in 2010 and 2012.
