Lightner, Huelskamp Dominating Facebook in Kansas Congressional Races

Social networking -- Facebook, specifically -- is becoming an increasingly part of electoral politics, much like websites around the year 2000 and blogs in 2004. Today, while those two are still significant factors, today it is social networking an independent grassroots websites that are increasingly playing a role in politics.

The reasons are simple -- it is an easy way for people and spread the word about their favorite candidate without having to fill up people's e-mail inboxes, which people are increasingly less likely to want spam in, and while they may sign up for an e-mail list of one candidate, they are unlikely to sign up for several if they are just an average conservative voter.

Therefore, Facebook allows for a quick and free method of communicating your message frequently, while also directing people to one's website or other forms of media discussing a particular race. The number of "fans" one has is also a barometer of the level of passion behind one's campaign. Much like yard signs, it is not an exact predictor, but it is certainly a sign that a candidate has a following.

As this medium develops, in the Kansas political scene, it is interesting to take note of who is leading the pack as far as "fan counts" go. As of this post, here are the counts:

Governor
Sam Brownback -- 2,958
Brownback for Governor has actually not made any posts...so while they have a good number of fans, Sam is not as of yet using this medium for his Governor race. However, he does communicate via Facebook from his own account for his work as Senator, which is similarly near the 3K mark.

U.S. Senate
Jerry Moran - 3,642
Todd Tiahrt - 2,829
These are both extremely good numbers. While Moran has an advantage, both have large followings and use this medium often, which is to their credit.

U.S. Congress -- 1st District
Tim Huelskamp -- 1,318
Jim Barnett -- 44
Rob Wasinger -- 525
Tracey Mann -- 602
Sue Boldra -- 657 (uses a Group)
Monte Shadwick -- 184
Marck Cobb - none
Huelskamp is dominating in this area, and he just created his fan page a while ago -- it has skyrocketed. Wasinger's number is respectable, though he only has used it a little in the past couple of weeks. Mann's number is decent as well. Huelskamp's # will likely continue to go up. Barnett appears not to be caring about Facebook, which is a mistake.

U.S. Congress -- 2nd District
Lynn Jenkins -- 594 for "Lynn Jenkins for Congress"; 950 for "federal page".
Dennnis Pyle -- 38 (just created it, it appears)
Lynn is in the difficult position, as all federal guys are, of having to have two fan pages -- one for stuff out of DC, one for campaign stuff. There is likely a lot of crossover in her numbers -- both are respectable. Pyle just started, it appears.

U.S. Congress -- 3rd District
Patricia Lightner -- 1,763
John Rysavy -- 301
Daniel Gilyeat -- 240 on one page, 628 on another
Nick Jordan -- 175
Kevin Yoder -- 191
Lightner is blowing the doors off here -- she is emphasizing Facebook a lot, which she posts on daily if not more. Not a bad move for a grassroots campaign needing avenues to get its message out while they try to pick up the fundraising. She and Rysavy are the only ones who frequently use their page. Jordan hasn't posted since October of 2008 and Yoder, despite having created a page in December and being a media darling, hasn't crossed 200. Rysavy posts a lot, but his number is stagnant. Gilyeat for some reason has two pages, and hasn't posted on either in a month.

4th Congressional District
Mike Pompeo -- 687
Wink Hartman -- 976 (using Group)
Jim Anderson -- no page, his website directs to his personal account, where he has 139 friends.
Dick Kelsey -- 118 (Group)
Jean Schodorf -- 409
Raj Goyle, 2,079 (Democrat)
The 4th District's use of Facebook is interesting. Pompeo is going the Lightner/Huelskamp route, using it quite a bit for posts and picking up fans as of late, though still well behind leaders in other districts. Hartman uses a Group instead, and Kelsey really has done little. Schodorf is trying but has a ways to go. The problem here is Goyle, who is the only Democrat mounting any kind of campaign in Kansas, and he has over 2000. We think the Republican winner will defeat him, but Goyle clearly has some gas in the tank as far as support goes -- both financially and on the internet.

Secretary of State
Kris Kobach -- 864
JR Claeys -- 148
Libby Ensley -- nothing