Battle of the Buckeye Blogs

2005 promises most Americans a well-deserved -- if brief -- respite from the political spin cycle. Aside from gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia and some other odd-year contests, it's time for big party machines to analyze the post-game video and get ready for the mid-term congressional elections in 2006.

That's not the case for everyone, however, and at least one state is buzzing with online political activity. As the Associated Press reported, some politicians are experimenting with Weblogs to shake up districts known for predictable party-line votes.

The AP story takes place in Ohio, where liberal activist Chris Baker is trying to use blogs and other word-of-mouth techniques to muster support for a progressive candidate. The 2nd District, where Baker is working, provides the rare off-cycle opportunity to try something new after seven-term Republican Rep. Rob Portman joined the Bush administration as U.S. trade representative.

Eleven Republicans and five Democrats are jostling to fill Portman's shoes, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported, creating a pool of voters who could be receptive to messages delivered in original ways that set them apart from the competition.

Baker and his Republican counterparts said they believe the GOP will hold the 2nd District, though the Cincinnati Post reported that most of those candidates will have to struggle to distinguish themselves: "Of the 11 Republican candidates, four ... are widely viewed as the presumptive frontrunners. ... The other seven, most of them first-time candidates, offer a diversity of backgrounds and life experiences. Drawn from both the district's urban centers and remote rural outposts, they include several teachers, a part-time letter carrier, a former government worker, a lawyer, a financial analyst and a professional magician. ... Their best hope -- perhaps their only hope -- is for the better-known candidates to so seriously splinter the vote that a dark horse could perhaps slip through."

The AP said that in a field like this, liberal activist Baker will use the race "as spring training for the 2006 midterm elections and 2008 presidential contest. Baker posts reports and commentary on the campaign along with appeals from the candidates for volunteers and money. In one recent post, Baker referred to Republicans' efforts to court religious conservatives as a 'truly pathetic display,' and he continually refers to some Republicans as serving the Sith lord villains of 'Star Wars' movies."

Two of the 2nd District candidates, Bob McEwen (R) and Victoria Wulsin (D) started their own campaign blogs. The story includes a summary of Howard Dean's partially blog-fueled ascendancy during the last presidential campaign, and offered some other e-politics examples as well. It noted Kentucky Rep. Ben Chandler's (D) congressional victory, spurred in part by raising $80,000 from two weeks' worth of ads that his campaign placed on the Daily Kos blog.

Blogging From Center City

Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham smacked down maverick rival and former subordinate Seth Williams in her race for reelection last month, but the papers in the City of Brotherly Love already have identified Williams as the blogging candidate.

Though Abraham took 56 percent of the vote to Williams's 44 percent, he is getting credit for trying out new media. The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story on his blogging base in May: "Williams strategists say they believe the bloggers provide at least a modest counterweight to ... Abraham's power. [Abraham] is a 14-year veteran who has plenty of campaign cash -- but so far no bloggers -- and the support of Democratic Party ward leaders. 'The bloggers tend to be leaders,' said Ray Murphy, who runs Williams's Internet operation. 'I think of them as carrier pigeons spreading the word.'"

Well, it didn't quite work out, though Williams did raise more than $3,000 through the blogs.

Here is Philly1.com with some analysis, both positive and negative: "Williams does leave one substantial political legacy in the wake of defeat. He was the first Philadelphia politician to make a systemic effort to mobilize bloggers, many highly ideological, on behalf of his campaign. Obviously, there is no way to precisely evaluate how many votes the bloggers may have affected. One downside is that bloggers tend to reach politically sophisticated people - people who enjoy spending their free time reading about political issues. And thus, the people who would LEAST be likely to be swayed by campaigning."

The Inquirer quoted one city politics expert whose comment seems to buttress that analysis: "'He needs to raise some money and build up a community profile,' said J. Whyatt Mondesire, president of the city chapter of the NAACP. 'He did better than anticipated, but what hurt him is not having a community base.'" The story said Williams carried all but one of the city wards that have an African-American voting majority.