Jeremy Alford received an email last week from “David’s iPhone”—David being U.S. Sen. David Vitter.
“At least that’s what was displayed in my inbox,” Alford writes in his latest column. “The subject line read, ‘Please let us know.’ And nothing else. Had I not been swamped with prospecting emails from campaigns over the last few years, I may have been eager to open up the digital missive to see what kind of Mac-friendly note David had thumbed in for me.”
As it turns out, Team Vitter just wanted Alford to vote in an “important contest” to select their next campaign bumper sticker for the governor’s race.
“And to pay $10 to secure the winning sticker,” he adds. “Anyone with an interest in politics, and a willingness to hand over their email address at an event or on a campaign website, knows the struggle. Especially this time of year, when several high-profile races are slated for this fall and next. Emails with catchy subject and send lines are stacking up in our inboxes.”
As Alford says, it’s the future of politics—today.
“Candidates can raise money, work on their messaging, conduct grassroots outreach and drum up attendance for rallies using emails. All at a fraction of the cost of antiquated means,” he writes. “Email is in not a new technology, but campaigns are using accounts and email clients in more sophisticated ways. In some respects, it’s worrisome.”
Alford says email represents one of the reasons why candidates in general have become more detached than ever.
“Why barnstorm the state spreading your brand in person when you can simply click a button and reach thousands instantly? Nothing can ever replace a personal touch, to be sure, but campaigns today are increasingly focused on honing their digital touch, too,” he writes. “Emails also allow for a shrewdness that doesn’t necessarily translate as well in paid advertisements or social media.”
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
