Candidates gain fans with social Web sites

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August 20, 2009

Virtual campaign tool allows supporters to follow every step of trail

By KATIE BRANDENBURG - The Independent The Daily Independent Thu Aug 20, 2009, 11:10 PM EDT

ASHLAND — Candidates for state Senate are gaining hundreds, sometimes thousands, of fans without knocking on any doors or pressing any palms.

They’re attracting supporters virtually.

Candidates for Kentucky’s 18th Senate district are using Web sites and the social networking site Facebook as campaigning tools.

Republican candidate Dr. Jack Ditty of Bellefonte is leading the charge with 1,008 supporters on his political page on Wednesday afternoon. Democrat Rep. Robin Webb of Grayson had 779 members on her Facebook group.

Guy E. Gibbons, an Independent candidate from Russell, doesn’t have a Facebook page. He has a Web site and uses e-mail to get in contact with supporters.

Gibbons said he preferred running his campaign through personal connections.

“I think people appreciate talking directly to the candidate,” he said.

He uses e-mail addresses passed on to him by friends and supporters to get people to join his campaign, Gibbons said. His Web site also has a tab to let people contact him via e-mail.

Gibbons said he can’t evaluate the effectiveness of the Web site because he hasn’t run a campaign for about 20 years.

Webb said launching her Facebook group was her first experience with the site. She said officials in the state Democratic Party urged her to launch the page.

Webb said she’s more comfortable campaigning in traditional ways, such as going door to door or attending meetings of local organizations. But the short campaign cycle caused by the special election meant she needed to reach people in a six-county district in a short amount of time.

Facebook is a tool to do that, Webb said.

She said her Web site and Facebook page serve as a way to inform people about her candidacy and important issues as well as motivate supporters to take action.

“An informed population is a lot easier to govern,” she said.

Webb said her children, who have Facebook pages, have been supportive of her foray into social networking, leaving messages of support through the page.

“I’m much more cool than I was in July,” she said.

Andi Johnson, communications director for the Republican Party of Kentucky, said her organization has seen success with Ditty’s Facebook page and the party’s page.

The Republican Party of Kentucky launched its own Facebook page a few months ago, she said. It had 2,850 supporters on Wednesday afternoon.

“In this day and age, the Internet is the place to be to find people and inform,” Johnson said.

Johnson said Ditty’s Web site and Facebook page serve different purposes.

The Web site, which goes into more depth about Ditty’s background, serves as an information source for voters. The Facebook page serves as a resource for people who already support Ditty, she said.

“We are doing the traditional things and the untraditional,” Johnson said. “It’s more tools in the belt to help advocate for our candidate.”

She said they’ve been able to get supporters from the Facebook page to come in and help with traditional campaigning, such as calling potential voters.

It helps to bring in people who might not have been reached before because they aren’t members of local Republican organizations, Johnson said.

Both Webb and Johnson said they’ve been surprised at the wide variety in the ages of people who are supporters on the candidate Facebook sites because the site originally catered to college students.

Webb said the site now appeals to people of many different generations from youth to retirees.

“I think it’s a good mix,” she said.

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