Senate candidates banking on Internet experts
Castor, Deutsch recruit veterans of presidential campaigns.
By Larry Lipman, Palm Beach Post Washington Bureau

Thursday, August 26, 2004

TAMPA — Fueled by former Internet gurus from Democratic presidential campaigns, the battle for votes between U.S. Senate candidates Betty Castor and Peter Deutsch is offering voters cutting-edge approaches to cyber-campaigning.

The driving force behind Castor's Web site — www.bettynet.com — is Larry Biddle, her deputy campaign manager, who played a major role in boosting Howard Dean from the back of the Democratic pack to being the money and polls front-runner in the weeks before the Iowa presidential primary.

Sanford Dickert, who was chief technology officer for John Kerry's campaign and helped design the blog — a form of message board — on the Democratic National Convention Committee's Web site, is the driving force behind Deutsch's Web site: www.peterforflorida.com.

The third major candidate in the Democratic primary, Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas, has used the Web primarily to inform voters about his views and to solicit contributions on his site: www.alexpenelas2004.com.

But Penelas does something neither of his opponents does: He responds to every e-mail message sent to his campaign, spokeswoman Danae Jones said.

Deutsch has two staffers who respond to all of his e-mail messages. For selected e-mails, Dickert said, Deutsch personally responds by e-mail or telephone.

The Internet has been an increasingly important tool of modern campaigning and may play a crucial role in close races this year, said Carol Darr, director of George Washington University's Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet.

"Candidates have come to realize that the Internet is real important because it's a way for their supporters or would-be supporters to find them and to get involved," Darr said.

While all of the Web sites bombard viewers with information about the candidates, the Castor and Deutsch campaigns are trying new ways to tie voters to their cause.

"The idea is to create opportunities for people to act," Biddle said. "The theory that started all this is that there are a whole lot of people who want to do something about politics but don't have a way to do so other than giving money or voting."

Money spigot opens

Dickert, director of Internet strategy for the Deutsch campaign, said that "the goal has been a dialogue rather than a broadcast. It's an opportunity to engage with the campaign."

Another advantage, the Castor and Deutsch campaigns say, is that their Web sites have boosted fund-raising efforts.

Dickert said that while his site's redesign was not specifically intended to increase contributions, the amount of money raised for Deutsch through the Internet in the past two months is 15 times more than was raised through the site in the previous three months.

Biddle estimated that about 20 percent of Castor's contributions have come through the Internet operations, including events scheduled through the Web site. If Castor becomes the Democratic nominee, Biddle expects the percentage of money that comes through the Internet will increase to about 30 percent.

Castor's Web site also has been a key resource in linking volunteer efforts. Biddle brought the operating programs he developed for Dean to the Castor campaign and has built on that effort.

"If you can shop on the Internet, you can get involved in politics on the Internet," Biddle said.

Castor supporters, for example, can sign up on her Web site to host house parties. The site e-mails invitations to guests and allows them to give their contributions online with a credit card, rather than coming to the party with a check.

Recently, there were 125 simultaneous Castor campaign parties. During the parties, Castor speaks to the attendees on a conference call.

Another feature of Castor's site are her "Betty Buddy" pages. Supporters are encouraged to create their own Web pages within her site to solicit contributions for Castor's campaign.

Each page includes a personalized message from the supporter and a thermometer showing how close the supporter has come to reaching his goal of raising money for the campaign.

The buddies send e-mails to their friends, directing them to their Web pages. Contributions raised from the friends are credited to the buddy's page, raising the thermometer.

Other innovations include "Bettyheads" and postcards.

Bettyheads, who change daily, are volunteers who write a short statement about why they support Castor. The statements are featured on Castor's home page, along with a photograph submitted by the volunteer. Biddle said there is a three-week waiting list for Bettyheads.

The postcards began last week. Visitors to the site pick a picture of Castor campaigning, add a personal message to a form message generated by the campaign and pick a potential supporter to send it to. With a click of the button, a signal is sent to a printer in New York state and a postcard is mailed to the potential supporter.

Virtual precinct captain

Deutsch's Web site also features a supporter of the day, with a photo, offering a testimonial as to why he or she supports Deutsch. The testimonials often offer reminders of how Deutsch helped constituents and those who sought his assistance over the years of his service in the legislature and Congress. The site highlights a featured campaign worker of the week.

Dickert, who joined Deutsch's campaign about two months ago, said he completely overhauled the Web site to engage potential supporters and "communicate the ways Peter is fighting for Florida's future."

He changed the primary listing for the site from one that used Deutsch's last name — which may be hard for some voters to spell — to one that uses his first name: Peter. He also used a larger typeface and standardized the look of every page to make it easier to find information quickly.

People can volunteer for Deutsch online and become virtual precinct captains. Once volunteers become captains, they receive e-mails suggesting how they can represent the Deutsch campaign in their community.

Both campaigns also have a blog, short for Web log, a form of Internet bulletin board. Castor contributed regularly to her blog from the Democratic National Convention. Her blog is uncensored.

A volunteer, Steve Horowitz, runs Deutsch's blog, which offers the candidate's take on the day's news developments regarding the campaign and solicits others to express their views. Whatever goes on the blog is up to Horowitz, not the campaign, Dickert said.

"We wanted to be engaging," Dickert said of the blog, which he said is a departure from typical campaign-run blogs.