Drive a Chevy? You must be a Republican

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

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Katie Gordon with the state GOP says they target gun owners.

TALLAHASSEE (Bay News 9) -- Desperate for votes and armed with new technologies, political parties are changing the way they find their voters.

They're tracking everything from the food people eat to the car they drive. The sophisticated strategy is called microtargeting.

Republicans pioneered microtargeting four years ago. They say it contributed to George W. Bush being re-elected.

Katie Gordon with the state GOP says people who own guns are their top microtargets.

"What we do is contact people and ask them, and maybe people who have not supported a Republican in the past or who have not indicated that they even are going to be voting this election cycle; and ask them what their feeling is on the Second Amendment," Gordon said.

Ben King is the man behind the Democrats new microtargeting software. The software relies on marketing data they bought.

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The theory goes, if someone drives a Ford or a Chevy, they're likely to vote Republican. If they drive a Volvo, chances are they're a Democrat.

From that information King can predict whom someone will vote for. He then relays the details to campaign workers.

"When you get right down to it, when the rubber meets the road, it's about neighbors talking to neighbors; it's about direct voter contact with people who you know, who you trust," King said. "You've seen this guy walking his dog around the street."

But political science isn't always scientific -- for instance Keith Green votes Democrat but drives a Ford, not a Volvo.

"My dad was a Ford man, and you know how that goes -- it's kind of -- when your father is one, you just kind of pass it down," Green said.

So, there is a big chance he won't get a knock on the door from Democrat campaigners.

The parties also say that microtargeting may not work as well this year because both presidential candidates are seen by many as moderates. That crossover appeal may not mesh with traditional theories.

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