LANSING - During most election years, a number of advertisements are run by political candidates. Some of them are positive, talking about the accomplishments of the candidate, while others focus on painting their opponent in a negative light. But what impact do these ads have on voters, and what candidate is hurt more by negative ads?

For voters during an election season, it may feel like there is no escape from negative ads. And, for some, it seems like advertising is more negative than previous years.

"In every election, voters complain about negative advertising," Matt Grossmann, Associate Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University said. "But if we actually look at content analysis of advertising, it isn't necessarily getting too much more negative, and we still have a majority of ads that are positive."

Even so, some voters are sick of the sniping.

"I'd like to hear from candidates, what they propose to do, in a more positive and constructive way," East Lansing resident Peter Algei said. "I don't think it really influences my voting all that much, except, maybe makes me less likely to go towards a candidate using that tactic."

And for candidates running negative ads, Grossman says it's a calculated risk.

"If you run a negative ad against your opponent, support for you declines some, and support for your opponent hopefully declines more," Grossmann said.

Grossmann said that negative advertising is not something that started recently, but something that can be traced back to the beginning of the Republic.