Page 195 - Information and American Democracy Technology in the Evolution of Political Power

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Political Organizations
campaign web sites, while only 54 percent of those with budgets under
$50,000 had them. 184 Something similar to the traditional relationship
between financial resources and communication capacity had emerged.
The new media had a far lower threshold for entry than television, since
almost any candidate could afford at least some form of web site and
electronic mail system; but money still bought apparently more power
and efficacy in this new medium.
The third lesson of 1998 was that in the area of interaction with sup-
porters, the Internet offered real value. The new communication chan-
nels offered novel ways for campaigns to engage interested citizens. What
many candidates found to be a weakness of the web – namely, the in-
ability to reach the broad, nonselective audiences of television – more
sophisticated candidate organizations exploited as an advantage: a direct
channel for sustained communication with selective groups of support-
ers who might be turned into donors or volunteers. One of the most
successful campaigns in this regard was that of Barbara Boxer for Senate
in California. Her site provided what amounted to a changing interactive
exhibit about the candidate, which was designed to keep interested voters
engaged and coming back to the site right up until election day. Rather
than attempting to persuade voters who were undecided or inclined to-
ward her opponent, the Boxer site was intended to boost turnout among
supporters – not unlike precinct-walking immediately before an election.
Hercampaignalsohelpedpioneerwaysforsupporterstomakecampaign
donations by credit card, raising about $25,000 this way. 185 That was a
paltry amount for a California Senate race, but enough to constitute
proof of the viability of a new means for moving campaign funds.
The fourth lesson of 1998 came from the idiosyncratic campaign of
Jesse Ventura for the governorship of Minnesota. Lacking the traditional
organizational support of a major party and the financial resources
of his opponents, Democrat Skip Humphrey and Republican Norm
Coleman, Reform Party candidate Jesse Ventura relied almost exclu-
sively on comparatively inexpensive information technology in lieu of
the traditional campaign organization. His campaign initiated its web

184
The study was conducted by Campaigns and Elections magazine, a publication of
Congressional Quarterly, Inc. It relied on a sample of 270 campaigns drawn during
July and August of 1998. It was reported at the time on the Campaigns and Elections
web site, http://www.camelect.com/survey.html, but has since been removed. For
information, see www.campaignline.com.
185
David A. Dulio, Donald L. Goff, and James A. Thurber, “Untangled Web: Internet
Use during the 1998 Election,” PS: Political Science and Politics 32, no. 1 (1999):
53–59.

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