While the barrage of negative ads is likely to be bad during the general election, the Republican primaries have seen a confluence of factors that have made for particularly fertile ground for negative ads: the introduction of superPACs collided with a war for control of the GOP between conservatives and hard conservatives.
Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White was accused of lying about his home address on voter registration forms in order to continue receiving a stipend for serving on his town's council.
All Things Considered

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A centrist think tank finds that in several key states, both parties are losing voters relative to the number of newly declared independents. In Colorado, which holds its Republican caucuses Tuesday, declared independents are now about even with registered Republicans or registered Democrats.
All Things Considered
The percentage of negative political TV ads has increased sharply in the run up to the 2012 election. Ronald Reagan — revered by the Republican candidates — didn't air a single negative advertisement in his 1980 campaign for the presidency. George W. Bush's campaign didn't air any negative ads in 2000 either, nor did Democratic candidate Al Gore. Audie Cornish talks with John Geer, who tracks political advertising out of Vanderbilt University, about why the landscape has changed so drastically.