Answer :
Final answer:
The correct ranking of media coverage for candidates is incumbents receiving the most, followed by challengers, and then third-party candidates due to factors such as name recognition and campaign funding. A) Incumbents > Third-party candidates > Challengers.
Explanation:
When ranking the amount of media coverage of electoral candidates, it typically follows a pattern where incumbents receive the most coverage, followed by challengers, and then third-party candidates. This is primarily due to incumbents enjoying greater name recognition and usually having more access to campaign funds, which helps keep them in the public eye and typically ensures more positive media coverage. Challengers have to work harder to gain visibility and often lack the funds to air political ads, but may leverage platforms like social media to their advantage. Third-party candidates, unfortunately, generally receive the least media coverage, as they tend to have even fewer resources and less recognition than major party challengers.
Therefore, the correct ranking from the highest to lowest amount of media coverage of candidates is:
A) Incumbents > Challengers > Third-party candidates.