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Area Hopefuls Online for Funding, Forums
Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, October 17, 1998; Page A10 Republican challenger Robert B. Ostrom displays a "photo of the week" on his Web site showing Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) on the golf course with President Clinton to demonstrate their cozy relationship. A Democrat running for commissioner in St. Mary's County invites potential campaign donors to a barn dance and rally next week. Maryland gubernatorial candidate Ellen R. Sauerbrey (R) has an interactive puzzle for children. Other candidates electronically publish pages and pages of text outlining their positions on such issues as taxes and abortion. Republican Demaris H. Miller, who is challenging Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.), has taken to the Internet to urge supporters to sign a petition to support the impeachment of the president. D.C. Democratic mayoral candidate Anthony A. Williams has made electronic appeals for volunteers. Across the Washington area, many candidates are using the Internet for the first time to reach out to voters and supporters, often by creating their own Web sites. Political consultants and candidates who use the Internet consider the Web to be a cheap and effective vehicle to get information to voters, recruit volunteers and make a pitch for money. Just being plugged in can send a message that a candidate is hip to the times, some said. "If it works, it could change politics as we know it," said Phil Noble, president of Politics Online, a company in Charleston, S.C., that provides Internet tools for politics. So far, few are ready to declare that an election can be won or lost on the Internet. Most local candidates are just trying to give the medium a trial run. Sauerbrey and incumbent Parris N. Glendening (D), who also ran against each other in 1994, are online for the first time. In fact, state Sen. Patrick J. Hogan (R-Montgomery), who owns a business that designs Web sites, said he cannot remember a single state candidate in Maryland who had a campaign home page when statewide elections were last held, in 1994. "I'd be willing to bet there weren't any," said Hogan, whose campaign Web site allows supporters to order yard signs and pledge contributions. He estimated that his campaign has received $800 to $1,000 in donations off his Web site. Republican Carol Schwartz, a candidate for D.C. mayor, launched her Web site in September. Her press secretary, Daisy Voigt, said she hasn't "figured out how it matters." "We do it because it's expected, but our primary way of reaching voters is to put Carol on the street," Voigt said. The Web offers unlimited space for candidates to discuss the issues. No elected office is too small, no race too insignificant. "Even fringe candidates can provide a site that makes it as good as an incumbent's," said Ron Gunzburger, publisher of politics1.com, a political Web site. The cost to design and maintain a Web site depends on whether a candidate uses a professional service or a volunteer to operate the page. Ostrom spends $50 a month to maintain his Web site, said his press secretary, Matt Johnston. The average radio ad costs the campaign about $15 for a 60-second spot on an important issue, which is paid each time the ad airs. "There is substance to these issues, and a 60-second radio ad or a 30-second TV ad just doesn't do it," Johnston said. Joseph F. Anderson, a Democratic candidate for commissioner in St. Mary's County, said the Web is "just the [in] thing to do." "It is a quick, quick way to get your message out to the community and to listen to the community," said Anderson, whose site features an opinion poll allowing people to check off issues most important to them. But, he added, "the best way to reach people is still to go door to door. There's no substitute to getting out in the community."
© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company |
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Maryland GOP gubernatorial nominee Ellen R. Sauerbrey uses her site as an organizing tool. The campaign Web site of Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D) offers the basics: biographies, the platform, speeches and an e-mail form.
