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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Todd Zeigler
(202)741-1500

Congressional Campaigns Not Using
the Net, Says Bivings Group
Only 29 Percent of Incumbents Have
2002 Campaign Web Sites

(March 22, 2002) – Washington, D.C. – Congressional incumbents are not employing online communications, resources and fundraising tools according to a study released today by The Bivings Group (www.bivings.com), a non-partisan, Washington, DC-based Internet communications agency. The report is the first in a series of studies examining the online presence of political campaigns and exploring the use of the Internet in the political sphere.

“John McCain raised $1 million in 48 hours through his web site and he won the New Hampshire primary in 2000. It seems unusual that more campaigns haven’t created deeper, more robust Web sites to reach their constituents,” said Gary Bivings, President of The Bivings Group. “The ‘what it means’ here is, some smart politicians will have an edge over their competition.”

Other findings, by the numbers, include:

  • 29 percent: Number of incumbents that have 2002 campaign Web sites;

  • 42 percent: Number of currently operational campaign Web sites that accept secure online donations;

  • 2 to 1: Number of Senatorial Campaign Committees more likely to have campaign Web sites than House Campaigns;

  • Republicans outpace Democrats in five major areas of the study…
       - 29 percent more likely to have functioning Web sites;
       - 25 percent easier to find;
       - More likely to allow online donations;
       - More likely to offer easy-to-find contact info;
       - More likely to provide info on how to volunteer.

  • More than 40 percent of campaign committees for U.S. Senators and Representatives up for re-election in 2002 have no web presence at all.

”As campaign finance reform moves forward and eliminates the soft-money option to fund campaigns, the Internet will prove to be an invaluable tool for reaching constituents and enabling them to participate in the campaign, financially or otherwise," said Bivings.

The full report can be viewed and downloaded in PDF format from: http://www.bivings.com/campaign/studies/march2002study.pdf.

The Bivings Group is a Washington, DC-based Internet strategies firm with globally tested and recognized expertise in public relations, issues management and marketing. To learn more about the web-based solutions TBG has developed for clients that include Fortune 100 companies in the chemical, biotechnology, financial, food, consumer products and telecommunications industries, visit www.bivings.com.

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The Bivings Group