US Republicans seen falling behind in election

OBAMA'S DIGITAL 'GURUS'

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The Democrats' digital advantage is fueled largely by tools developed by Obama's campaigns in 2008 and 2012 to identify likely Democratic voters, persuade them to vote and encourage their friends to do the same.

Using databases built from such information, digital teams can design and target ad campaigns and online outreach efforts through social media and emails to specific groups.

The Democrats' efforts are further boosted by a network of dozens of former Obama technology aides who have formed consulting companies that, while independent of one another and the party, share information and strategies with each other and with clients, including many campaigns.

During the past year, this Democratic network helped the successful campaigns of Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.

Now, several of Obama's former digital and data staffers are turning their sights on 2014 races, some of which pose large hurdles for Democrats.

They include Teddy Goff, a former digital director for Obama's 2012 campaign. Goff's firm, Precision Strategies, has been hired by the campaign of Charlie Crist, the Republican-turned-Democrat and former Florida governor who is seeking to reclaim that job this fall in a battle against his successor, conservative Republican Rick Scott.

In Wisconsin, BlueLabs, which includes Obama 2012 data engineers Chris Wegrzyn and Daniel Porter, has gone to work for Mary Burke. She is the Democrat challenging conservative Republican Governor Scott Walker, who is seen by many Republicans as a potential presidential candidate.

Other firms led by Obama digital campaign veterans include 270 Strategies, which is led by the 2012 campaign's battleground states director Mitch Stewart and national field director Jeremy Bird.

It has signed on to help Democrat Wendy Davis' long-shot bid for Texas governor against Greg Abbott, the Republican attorney general in the mostly Republican state.

The 270 Strategies firm also is working for Ready for Hillary, the political action committee supporting a possible presidential run by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016.

The Democratic digital and data teams are coy about discussing their tactics and strategies, but Republican digital specialists say they have seen enough of them to recognize a gulf between each side's capabilities.

Ned Ryun, founder of Republican campaign technology company Voter Gravity, pointed to the 2013 race for Virginia governor as an example of Republicans' struggles with voter data.

McAuliffe defeated conservative Republican Ken Cuccinelli in the politically divided state, a big win for Democrats at a time when Obama's administration was under fire for problems with the rollout of Obamacare.

"The Cuccinelli campaign was going door-to-door using paper and pen" while collecting voter data, Ryun said. "When I asked what happened to the data, their guy just shrugged his shoulders."

When campaigns do not retain or share data, Ryun said, it hurts candidates' ability to persuade voters, and information that a campaign obtains cannot be used by future candidates.