The Internet Finally Becomes A Factor In The Primaries

Four years ago, Howard Dean and Joe Trippi showed everyone how powerful the Internet could be as a campaign and fundraising tool. This year, it seemed like it was not as important.

But the news yesterday that Obama’s campaign was loaded with cash and Hillary’s was strapped showed that in the end, the Internet is the most powerful fundraising vehicle of them all.

The following charts come from a NY Times story this morning.

08clintongraphic

While this graphic doesn’t show how much of this money came directly from the Internet, we all know that no fundraising technique "scales" like Internet fundraising.

Hillary’s campaign has used the Internet well but not brilliantly. Obama’s campaign has done a better job and his personality and candidacy is much better suited to the medium. And the net result of that is that he sits in a stronger position right now because of it.

#Politics#VC & Technology

Comments (Archived):

  1. whaybe

    thank you for your graphics.

  2. MIchael

    @Fred: A few more stats herehttp://www.prospect.org/csn…@Lindsay: That depends on whether or not you think that super-delegates are subject to influence, not by campaigns but by the electorate. Boatloads of cash can sway public opinion, and I doubt super-delegates aren’t exactly flip about making the “wrong” decision. Money still very much matters.

  3. John DeMayo

    I’ve been extremely impressed with Obama’s internet operations. Did you see the tool that let members of his site call people to ask them if they will be voting in the upcoming primary, assigning them names and numbers of people they could call, along with a call-script? Pretty slick.

  4. Steve

    Great site!Would you consider a Link Exchange with The Internet Radio Network? At the IRN you can listen for free to over 60 of America’s top Radio Shows via Free Streaming Audio…http://netradionetwork.com

  5. Steven Kane

    I think this is THE biggest Internet story yet. And the most exciting and optimistic.@Lindsey — imho the delegate count stuff you cite isn’t deprerssing, its cause for celebration. excellent proof that democratization of campaign finance is real, and hugely effective.in years past, senator clinton’s machine would have rolled over any challengers based on its bundling and old-time fundriaisng prowess. you can see that in the clinton campaign’s now scrambling for fresh cash — they didn’t realize the rules had changed and assumed so strongly that the campaign would be over no later than super tuesday that they literally did not make a contingency plan. (i mean no disrespect to sen clinton or her campaign. what they did was by no measure wrong, just shortsighted)american public, stand up and take a bow. you have earned it. future historians will hopefully mark 2008 as the year of the democratization of the financing of campaigns — the ability of grass roots organization using new media to compete with traditional party fundraising apparatus. and that will hopefully be a point when elections start returning to their roots as, well, elections (yes, even if that means popularity contests) and will be less and less annointments based on machine-like political cronyism

  6. Paul Lightfoot

    Obama has a technology platform as well. (http://www.barackobama.com/…He’s adaptable to the present and the future in a way that none of the other major candidates can match. I think this is partly why he dominates among young votes. It is surely why his online fund raising crushes hillary’s. And, it’s one reason he’ll be a more successful president.