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Candidates' use of technology to get elected is growing
July 16, 2008
In today's heated campaigns for public office — not only in top-of-the-ticket races, but in local contests, as well — new technologies, much like television nearly a half-century ago, are forging a new political frontier that can make or break candidates. Today, some candidates fill their campaign war chests through their websites, send out e-mails to supporters, and knock on front doors with increased efficiency thanks to advances in technology.
Most political players — both Democrats and Republicans — who spoke to the Spinal Column Newsweekly agreed that technological advancements have been a boon to election campaigns.
"It's a lot easier to run today, but I wouldn't say it's any cheaper, that's for sure," said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. "But it's a lot easier because technology has so much information to provide the candidates.
"When I first ran for (Oakland County) prosecutor in 1972 vs. now, there's a world of difference," said the county's long-time Republican torch-bearer. "It was before computers. It was before technology. It was before mailing lists were computerized. Basically, we went door to door with a shoebox filled with out-of-date information gathered by the last precinct delegate."
"There's a lot more technology than I've used on campaigns in the past," said Clark Pettig, communications director for Gary Peters, a Democrat looking to unseat U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-Orchard Lake, Waterford, West Bloomfield).
And for Julie Petrick, Peters' campaign manager, the technological evolution has been occurring at near lightspeed.
"It's funny, the change that I've seen since I started," she said last week. "My first campaign was really in 2004, and we were still on clipboards and using Access databases."
But it's not just campaign websites that are making splashes in local and state politics. Both incumbent Congressional candidates representing the lakes area in Washington D.C. — Knollenberg and U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Commerce, Highland, Milford, Walled Lake, Waterford, White Lake, Wixom, Wolverine Lake) — have profile pages on Facebook.com, and McCotter's web site requests that visitors make him a "top friend" on Myspace.com.
"This is just another way that we are using the Internet, and high-tech, cutting edge, innovative methods to reach out to youth who are really interested in helping Congressman Knollenberg," said Mike Brownfield, the campaign manager for the seven-term federal lawmaker. "Also, for them, this is how they communicate, network, and reach out to their friends and bring them in."
Steve Mitchell, president and chief executive officer of Mitchell Research & Communications, a Lansing-based polling firm, said some of the technology creeping up in the political world also includes so-called "robocalls" — automated political phone calls — and interactive voice response polling, which offers a 300-sample survey for about $1,800, a fraction of the $6,000-$8,000 cost of a traditional poll of the same magnitude.
Such a system allows lower ticket candidates, such as those seeking a seat on the county commission, to get an accurate poll on a limited budget.
According to Mitchell, the technological landscape in politics is vast.
"Everybody wants to have a website because it's a place where somebody can go and read the campaign material," he said.
But the West Bloomfield resident also argued that, for less prominent political matchups, the verdict is still out on whether campaign websites are truly being utilized by a significant number of voters.
"It's still debatable as to how much you really see people using it, going to the site," he said. "You get mixed results on the number of hits web pages for political candidates may get or may not get.
"It's sort of a mixed bag. You're still not seeing widespread response to political websites unless they are (for) high-ticket or presidential candidates."
Kari Chisholm, an Internet strategist for Democratic candidates whose Oregon-based company, Mandate Media, has designed web sites for office-seekers throughout the country, said he believes that for high-profile races, a web presence is a must. For local candidates, campaign Internet sites are "optional," he said.
"One thing that's important to recognize is that, with the Internet stuff, generally speaking, it's not focused on voters," Chisholm said. "It should be focused on getting their supporters motivated and mobilized.
"Certainly what we've seen in the last four or five years is a dramatic rise in the use of technology to reach out in the world of politics. What we've seen in the last two or three years, really, is the rise of technology in politics at the local level."
Asked if he could pinpoint a specific "turning point" when he realized that effective use and manipulation of the Internet and other technologies was a must-have for large political campaigns, Cornfield said it was in 2006 when Ned Lamont defeated Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Connecticut) in the Democratic primary. That race, "in combination" with events in senatorial races in Montana and Virginia, "was when you saw Internet-savvy campaigns defeating less Internet-savvy campaigns."
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, who ran an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate in 2006 against Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, said his current campaign to keep his job as the county's top law enforcement official is different than his race two years ago in terms of geographic scope, but his philosophy about using technology in politics remains the same.
"I think it's important for us to adapt to the times, and for technology to stay accessible, available, and connected to the folks we serve," Bouchard said, who is being challenged in the August Republican primary election by Rochester Hills resident Jim Stevens.
Nationally, presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are raking in significant amounts of money for their war chests over the Internet.
However, many candidates who spoke with the Spinal Column Newsweekly for this report were either unable to provide information about how much money they had raised through their campaign websites, or chose to remain mum on the issue.
In addition, few had information about the amount of traffic those websites receive, or the length of the average "stay" at the websites.
Brownfield, who designed Knollenberg's re-election website, said those figures are "inside information."
Between coding, image design, thinking about the conceptual elements, and writing the text on the website, the entire process to create the site took a couple weeks, according to Brownfield.
"The real dynamic, cutting-edge part of the site is our ability to constantly update it, sometimes on a daily basis, with things that Congressman Knollenberg is doing in Washington and here in the district to help families, help bring new jobs and businesses to Oakland County and the 9th District," Brownfield said.
Knollenberg's e-mail list is in the "tens of thousands," according to Brownfield. People can sign up to join the list on the website, or at campaign rallies. The list serves up members with campaign and policy platforms, such as Knollenberg's "plan on gas prices."
"Folks who received the e-mail were really interested in hearing more about low gas prices, so they visited this page (on the website)." Hundreds of responses were received to that particular e-mail, Brownfield said.
He declined to talk "in real specific detail" about how the campaign collects and disseminates voter information to campaign volunteers when they go door to door because of "proprietary purposes." He did say, however, that the re-election team is using an Internet-based system that allows staffers to search for voters by demographic, party affiliation, and voting regularity.
Peters, the former state lottery commissioner challenging Knollenberg in the November general election, has raised almost $300,000 over the Internet through nearly 1,400 online donations, according to ActBlue.com, a website tracking Peters' online campaign donations.
A freshly-redesigned website was expected to be launched earlier this month, featuring a "much more streamlined feel to it," said Peters communications director Pettig. It has a "better volunteer sign-up form, blogger outreach, letters to the editor outreach," integrated multimedia on the front page, as well as a Flickr.com photo gallery.
"It's a lot cleaner," Pettig said.
The Peters campaign is using "a couple different e-mail lists," according to Pettig. There is a smaller list with weekly updates for people in the community and those involved with the campaign, and a larger list for fund raising. The list is compiled using the e-mail addresses of contributors, people signing up at campaign events, and through the door-to-door canvassing of volunteers who hand out campaign information that includes a card with a field for their e-mail address.
Peters supporters also use PalmPilots with voter data downloaded to them to help focus where they peddle campaign literature and attempt to drum up support.
Petrick, Peters' campaign manager, said last week that the system campaign staffers are using is downloaded through the Voter Action Network, a "web-based, interactive voter file system."
"It's not just voter lists," Petrick said, adding that "it really is kind of the premier" voter file system. "It's actually a script system. You actually can go through and pull up an entire voter record and, instead of having a paper script in front of you, you have an electronic script.
"It's really one of the first times I've actually had a candidate that has wanted to have this sort of program be one of the leading parts of their campaign," she said. "Being a Navy guy, being a seriously efficient human being, Gary wants to be out there talking to the most people. This program really allows for that."
Joseph Larkin, who is in a two-way Democratic primary contest with former Novi City Manager Edward Kriewall for the chance to challenge McCotter in November, said someone on his staff has been managing his campaign's website.
Although people can support his congressional campaign online, Larkin said he wasn't overly-optimistic about the possibility of online donations having a significant impact on the size of his war chest.
"To be frank with you, being a first-time candidate and never having run for office before, I think it's going to be a lot tougher to get people to contribute online," he said. "My success is talking with people directly to get campaign donations."
People who are on Larkin's e-mail list are providing the campaign with a "pretty good response," but mostly the list is used to tell members how they can help him in next month's primary election. As of late last month, the e-mails have also been used to solicit campaign volunteers.
Informed that McCotter has both a Myspace.com and Facebook.com account to drum up the youth vote, Larkin said that "now that you tell me that they've got those out there, I'll have to take a look at them myself and see how they are utilizing them to see if we need to put one up, too."
According to Joe Cella, a McCotter senior advisor who isn't part of the re-election campaign staff, the congressman's website was designed by an outside firm.
Many aspects of the campaign have yet to be determined, he said, including whether McCotter's workers and volunteers will use devices like Blackberries when going door to door.
"I would assume that the campaign would use other technology, as well — YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace," Cella said.
Cella declined to divulge information about how much cash has been raised through McCotter's website, or how many people were on his e-mail list.
"When the time comes, the people responsible for the campaign will communicate issues that he's engaged with on the campaign, whether it be proactive or reactive to whichever opponent he ends of facing in the general election," Cella said, adding that language in e-mails requesting campaign contributions is "pretty much boilerplate" text.
County Executive Patterson has a general election website with everything from a "Top 20 Accomplishments" page to PDF versions of all of his State of the County addresses.
Trent Wisecup, Patterson's campaign manager, said the site was put up just a few weeks ago.
In addition, the site — which was designed by an outside firm — features a video slideshow with photos of Patterson throughout the years of his county executive tenure, Wisecup said, adding that a blog will soon be up and running.
Sheriff Bouchard, whose domain name is registered but whose site wasn't up as of press time, said he has a "long-standing" list of supporter contact information, including e-mail and physical addresses, as well as phone numbers. His e-mail list is used to update those people on various items — "things that are of interest or may be of concern," he said.
"Obviously, the lists are created by different entities," Bouchard said. "To some extent, parties have the ability to create and manage lists. Your candidacy, as a member (of a political party) gets you access to those lists. You can download, print, or just view it."
Social networking sites are on the radar for the sheriff, as well.
"We've done that in the past, and I would think we would do it for this (campaign), too."
Oakland County Drain Commissioner John P. McCulloch, who has no challenger in the primary election but will face Democrat Brett Nicholson in November, said his campaign website was designed by an outside firm.
Politicians, to a certain extent, are essentially running a public relations campaign to sell themselves to targeted voters and demographics, according to McCulloch. That necessitates a presence on the Internet.
"What people don't realize is that we are, in effect, marketing a product and obviously you want to target those who vote on a regular basis," he said when asked about using voter lists when going door to door. "Campaigns are so expensive to run. Obviously you want to use a rifle- rather than a shotgun-approach."
McCulloch's re-election team has "talked" about using social networking websites in the upcoming campaign, but no decision had been made as of early this month. He added that he and his staff have also discussed the possibility of using Wikipedia, but that runs the risk of allowing individuals outside the campaign to edit the drain commissioner's Internet encyclopedia entry.
State Rep. Andy Meisner (D-Ferndale), who tossed his hat into the ring to challenge Republican County Treasurer Pat Dohany in November, said his website was created internally. Online donation figures were unavailable.
Meisner's campaign uses Blackberries with downloaded voter lists because it helps the team "reach out to voters."
John Kuriakuz, a Democratic candidate for the 39th State House seat, said he designed his website himself using a template. As of late last month, supporters contributed between $3,000 and $4,000 to his campaign. Approximately one-third of the donations have come this way, he said.
"Online contributions are used primarily by people who are out of town, or friends and relatives who perhaps are out of town," he said. "Internet donations have been very successful for people who are under 30."
Kuriakuz' e-mail list — which has about 700 or 800 people on it and is used to send out campaign platform notices and solicit cash for his campaign coffers — is "basically (his) personal contacts" in Microsoft Outlook.
"I tend not to use it very much because I don't want to burden peoples' in boxes," he said. "I only use it for important announcements."
Amy Peterman, a Republican candidate for the 39th House District seat, said "someone helped" her with her website, adding that she has received "quite a lot of donations," though she hasn't tallied them up.
Peterman, who is in a four-way race in the GOP primary election, said she sends out correspondence on a weekly basis through her 1,000-plus member e-mail list. However, she said she hasn't used it to solicit contributions.
Additionally, she doesn't use a Blackberry or other devices to download voter registration files and carry with her when she is walking through various neighborhoods in the 39th District.
"There may be somebody using that, but the system that we've implemented is not that way, although it's available to us," she said. "I guess you could say (my campaign is) 'old-fashioned style,' but it's working."
State Rep. Chuck Moss (R-Orchard Lake), who is being challenged in the Republican primary by Annette Mozer Keeble, has a non-traditional political website — he updates it himself, and has a cartoon picture of his dog at the top of the page saying "I'm with Chuck!" — that serves more as a hodgepodge of links and articles than one where supporters can make contributions to his campaign. He said last month that he's planning on having someone redesign it.
"I don't use it for aggressive fund raising, but that may change," he said.
While, as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, he sends out communications via e-mail, he said he is considerate about the campaign-related material he sends out over the Internet. And the idea of Blackberry-based voter lists is somewhat of a non-issue for Moss.
"My Blackberry doesn't have the brains to do all of that," he said, adding that he relies on "old-fashioned walking cards" when he he's going door to door.
County Commissioner Hugh Crawford (R-Novi), who is running in the four-way Republican primary race to take over term-limited state Rep. Craig DeRoche's (R-Walled Lake, Wixom) seat, said someone on his staff who does part-time web design work created his website.
And while supporters are able to donate through the site, Crawford said he doesn't believe anyone has utilized that method of contribution, as of late last month.
Jim Runestad, a Republican candidate vying to settle into current County Commissioner Eileen Kowall's (R-White Lake, Waterford) seat, said his website was designed by an outside firm. He said he didn't think anyone, as of early this month, had contributed to his campaign through the site.
"With a campaign like this, it really is very personal, in terms of the contacts that you've made in politics, or friends and relatives," he said. "People like that are who you have to turn to for financial support in a campaign for something like the county commission."
Runestad, president of the North Oakland Republican Club, said he has a "very extensive e-mail list" of about 4,800 names — it's been compiled over the past 6 years — that he gathered when finding people who were interested in Republican politics.
"Basically, they are campaign updates," Runestad said of the types of e-mails he sends out to people on the list. He is "getting ready to do an e-mail blast" in the coming weeks.
Donald Bortz, a Democratic Board of Commissioners candidate trying to unseat incumbent Tom Middleton (R-Waterford) in the November general election, not only takes in campaign contributions through his website but also writes for Blogging For Michigan, a hotspot for left-leaning Michiganders.
Bortz, while declining to release fund raising figures until next month, said he uses e-mails to solicit campaign contributions. The candidate, an Iraq War veteran, said he was inspired to run for public office after hearing of the 2006 campaign of Brian Keeler, a candidate for the New York State Senate who garnered support at the "netroots" level.
But it's not just county, state, or presidential candidates that are employing some of the technological advances on the campaign trail.
Both Michele Economou and Cathy Morgan Hall, who are challenging incumbent township supervisors in West Bloomfield and White Lake, respectively, have websites where visitors can learn more about the candidates and their campaigns.
Economou, who is looking to unseat West Bloomfield Township Supervisor David Flaisher, has a website featuring her campaign platform, a biography, and how to get involved in the campaign. However, she played down the importance of her website in her race.
"My philosophy has always been that face-to-face works beset," she said.
Morgan Hall, a former township trustee running against White Lake Township Supervisor Mike Kowall, has a website that touts her local supporters, provides biographical information, and lists the initiatives she supports.
But Morgan Hall is taking her Internet presence further than the website. In addition to her campaign website, she also has a 30-second video on YouTube.com that introduces herself to the electorate, as well as a Myspace.com page.
These features came at the suggestion of others, she said.
"There are a lot of people tied into computers, and that's just another avenue (to reach them)," Morgan Hall said.
"At night, or in your down time or when you're unwinding, people surf the 'Net," she said. "I think people who vote generally like to be informed, especially with a supervisor vote. It gives me an opportunity to let them see a little bit more about myself without boring them to death. They can either click off or continue to read."
Kowall said that this year he opted not to have a website for his re-election bid because they are "more geared for state- and national-level (campaigns) and it's an added expense, though he has had websites in past political campaigns for the Michigan House of Representatives.
However, he said those websites didn't particularly help his campaign.
"Truthfully, I don't think it made a whole lot of difference," he said. "There's no specific reason. Right now, I think people are just over-saturated with election information. Their mind is getting as cluttered as a (street) corner with all the signs."
And while few can predict the technology that will have an impact on political campaigns that are on the horizon, there appears to be no limit to the possibilities of new and more advanced developments in the coming years.
"If I could look into the future and tell you what the next technology would be, I would be rich beyond my wildest dreams," said Knollenberg campaign manager Brownfield. "But I think you will continue to see further integration of communicating with voters, using the Internet, using SNS (social networking sites), and using the various online technologies to identify who your voters and supporters are, plug them in, and spread information in a fast and effective manner."
Kirk Pinho is a staff writer for the Spinal Column Newsweekly
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