What may be the most comprehensive campaign list in American political history has been contracted out — to the tune of 30 million packets of Maruchan instant Ramen noodles.
President Barack Obama’s campaign email list — instrumental to his 2008 and 2012 campaigns — has just been loaned for four years to the progressive advocacy group Organizing for America, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“The Obama email list is an amazing small-dollar donor and fundraising resource,” said Daniel Kreiss. “It has absolutely been central to Obama’s two campaigns and has enabled Democrats to match fundraising that Republicans have been more adept at getting through super Pacs.”
Indeed, the list not only contains the addresses of more than 30 million people — about half the number of votes Obama received in either election and nearly a tenth of the American population — but it also contains a wealth of data on the behavior of those contacts in response to various outreach methods.
“The Obama campaign was and probably still is the most digitally sophisticated campaign there has been,” said Gary Pearce, political analyst. “There’s the Facebook of politics.”
The list should help Democrats target a huge amount of independents who voted for Obama and other everyday Americans. To that end, small dollar donations are an extremely valuable tool for political campaigns, because there are fewer restrictions on how the campaign money can be spent and donors are unlikely to reach the $2,700 cap for presidential campaign contributions.
Along with being a powerful fundraising tool, the list also provides a means for the Democratic Party to acquire volunteers and activists — mobilizing people to vote on Election Day.
“Email is basically the initial touch point for a larger process,” said Kreiss. “If you’re in North Carolina and you’re on an email list, in the days before the election they might send out calls to volunteer your time.”
Though the list currently bears Obama’s name, efforts within the Democratic Party to compile such a mammoth list began during the 2004 election.
“The [Howard] Dean campaign was really the first to very systematically use and test emails as a way to raise money,” said Kreiss. “Then, once Dean became chair of the party it, became the centerpiece of Democratic efforts.”
News of the email list’s transfer turns attention to the Republicans who have struggled to match the Democrats’ presence on new forms of media.
“They’ve been behind on this for a long time,” Pearce said. “Now they’re in a situation where unless something changes dramatically they have a hard time winning a presidential race.”
Regardless of the outcome of the Republican and Democratic media campaigns, one thing is certain: both sides will raise a ton of money.
“It is the best list in the history of American politics. $5 million is a deal,” Pearce said. “Now the question is, can anybody else generate the same kind of commitment and enthusiasm that Obama did?”
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