Internet levels political fundraising field
When you mention technology and how it can impact a campaign, the usual story that gets talked about is the Kennedy Nixon debate. This was the first televised presidential debate in the history of America and those who watched the debate declared Kennedy the winner while those who listened on radio sided with Nixon. By understanding the advantages of a given technology, political candidates can change the rules of debating, politicking, and now — fundraising.
Much like the Kennedy Nixon debate, the Democrats have taken the lead in effectively using technology to generate funds for local to presidential races. The premier site, ActBlue , offers one stop shopping for Democratic candidates and like minded independent groups to solicit support from donors regardless of location. “In four years, ActBlue has sent more than $60 million to some 3200 candidates and committees from more than 420,000 donors, with a median contribution of only fifty dollars, doing as much to ensure a sustainable Democratic future as any other player in the field,” declares ActBlue’s website. With multiple ways to search the list of candidates, supporters are sure to find who they’re looking for, links to candidates’ web sites, and easy methods to donate. ActBlue even takes PayPal. The days of going door to door, looking for donations to support campaign efforts are soon to be a thing of the past.
Harnessing the web to get support from ones compatriots is also paying off. The Wall Street Journal recently covered the saga of Sean Tevis, a would-be politician running for a Kansas state legislature seat. After extremely unproductive door to door tactics, Mr. Tevis posted a web-comic venting his frustration with the process and appealing for funds from what could be called a “shared-interest constituency”. Mind you, these were not the people actually in his district, but anyone out there who could identify with his comic “Running for Office: It’s Like a Flamewar With a Forum Troll, but With an Eventual Winner “. The end result: over $95,000 in campaign donations.
“I felt a connection,” Scott Lange told the Wall Street Journal. “We had something in common. It doesn’t matter where he is.” Lange isn’t in Mr. Tevis’ district. He’s not even in Mr. Tevis’ state. Mr. Lange is a law student in Atlanta. That’s the power of campaigning on the internet.
The other side of the aisle is starting to catch on but the GOP has a lot of work ahead of them. The Republican version for party-wide donations is Slatecard. Much like ActBlue, Slatecard works on behalf of candidates to gather funds and point supporters to candidate websites. Two large differences include the inability to work with PayPal and the lack of support for candidates who are running in local elections. The site’s FAQ points to later development which will include both these areas. Slatecard’s homepage has some impressive figures, advertising funds by candidate and slatecard, running from $2,000 - $64,000.
As the 2008 Presidential elections heat up, expect more focus to be placed on fundraising. Sen. Barak Obama recently announced passing the 2 million donor mark. You can bet it wasn’t done door to door but site to site. With more and more people connecting to the internet, using social networking, and sharing information via cellphone, the reach of fundraising directors gets a little closer to constituents’ wallets every day. Economists may have invented the term “voting with your dollars” but this generation of politicians are putting a whole new spin on it.
By Alicen Hogan