Final answer:
A "retaliatory" political campaign often employs negative campaigning tactics, including red-baiting and referencing past scandals, to attack an opponent's character or record.
Step-by-step explanation:
A "retaliatory" campaign against a political rival often involves various forms of negative campaigning, which is a strategy that uses critical or attacking messages towards an opponent instead of focusing on one's own policies. Over the years, tactics such as red-baiting (accusing someone of communist sympathies without evidence), mud-slinging via social media, and referencing historical scandals or divisive issues like the "bloody shirt" strategy have been used in such campaigns. Moreover, techniques akin to those used in McCarthyism, the aggressive actions of Senator Joseph McCarthy who accused many of being communists without proof, can also be observed in these campaigns. It's not uncommon for the party out of power to strongly criticize the in-power party's policies as a means to swing public opinion and support.