Negative Campaigning Vocabulary

noun a person who engages in malicious or slanderous attacks or accusations

• The politician was accused of being a mudslinger by his opponent during the debate.
• I can't believe that mudslinger is spreading rumors about me!
• That mudslinger needs to stop talking trash about everyone.
• She was known as a mudslinger in the office, always trying to bring others down with gossip.

noun the act of making malicious or slanderous statements about someone

• The political debate was marred by constant mudslinging between the candidates.
• I can't stand all the mudslinging going on in this election.
• The mudslinging between those two is getting out of hand.
• The gossip magazines are known for their mudslinging tactics towards celebrities.

noun A word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea. In this case, 'attack ad' is a noun as it refers to a type of political advertisement that aims to criticize or discredit an opponent.

• The politician's campaign strategy included running an attack ad against their opponent.
• Did you see that attack ad that was on TV last night? It was pretty harsh.
• That attack ad was straight up savage.
• Using an attack ad is like throwing mud in a political campaign.