IGPA analyzes social media presence and activity among Illinois candidates

Barack Obama’s success using the Internet to mobilize supporters during his 2008 campaign for President apparently has prompted many candidates for statewide office in Illinois to elevate their use of such vehicles as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube in their 2010 primary campaigns.

A researcher at the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs (IGPA) is conducting continuing analysis of the impact of social media on the 2010 campaign in Illinois. Senior Fellow Michael Cheney’s analysis finds that the candidates for governor and U.S. Senate who lead in conventional public opinion polls are not dominating social media – at least not yet.

The data gathered so far indicate that Thomas Castillo, a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Andrzewski each have 10 percent of the total social media activity among the 52 major-party candidates currently running for statewide office.

“The public’s attention hasn’t yet shifted to the February 2 primary,” Cheney said. “That contest will be a closed primary, so the likely voters have been identified and social media's ability to generate new voters will not be in play.”

Also, the leading candidates have raised sizable amounts of money to be used to reach likely voters in more conventional ways - advertising, phone calls and door-to-door canvassing - so social media are not high in their communication plans at this point, Cheney said.

Cheney’s analysis has found that 83 percent of all the statewide candidates have campaign websites, while 50 percent have Twitter accounts, 63 percent have Facebook sites, and 33 percent have YouTube channels.

Among the 27 GOP candidates for statewide office, all have campaign websites, while 67 percent (18) have Twitter accounts, 44 percent (20) have Facebook pages, and 44 percent (12) have YouTube channels. In contrast, among the 25 Democratic candidates, 84 percent (21) have campaign websites, while 60 percent (15) have Twitter accounts, 64 percent (16) have Facebook pages, and 44 percent (11) have YouTube/Vimeo channels.

In terms of individual social media, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed Scanlan led all candidates with website visits, while Thomas Castillo was first in Twitter activity and Democratic Governor Pat Quinn came out on top for Facebook activity and YouTube viewings.

“We see these numbers as setting a benchmark that will be followed as we move into the intense period of the campaign which begins now and leads up to the February 2 primaries,” Cheney said. “How the candidates choose to use these social media, and if they even choose to use them, will be the focus of our subsequent reports leading up the election.”

The full report can be found at http://igpa.uillinois.edu/library/social-media-2010.