ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on one of the key supports of representative democracy – current and prospective elected representatives. Specifically, we examine individual candidates’ use of the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the race for state executive and national legislative office in the United States. While politicians are vital parts of the representative institutions they serve, during their battles for voter sympathy one might expect them to opt for more individualistic and direct channels of communication with the electorate. This may especially be the case in the United States with its more candidate-centered form of election campaigning and governance. Such a system offers a more flexible and diverse platform for candidates to experiment and innovate in how to engage voters. The goal of this chapter is to assess how far candidates’ use of web communication during the 1998 and 2000 US Senate and gubernatorial elections actually reflected these more direct and experimental possibilities. Specifically, did candidates tend to follow offline campaign trends and adopt a largely symbolic and image-based message that took an attacking stance toward opponents? Or, did they opt for more participatory features and seek to present policy-rich information in positive and inviting ways? We also ask whether the communication style on the sites changed very much between the two election cycles. And finally, we assess the role of various structural factors, such as the level of office sought, and individual characteristics of the candidate, such as gender or incumbency status, in influencing candidates’ online communication style. In addressing these questions, the chapter presents an alternative perspective on the response of executive and legislative institutions to the challenge of new ICTs from that offered by Catherine Needham and Thomas Zittel in Chapters 3 and 4 in this volume. While their work revealed these bodies as a whole to be cautious in increasing their openness and public access via new ICTs, it might be that the elected individuals comprising them take a somewhat bolder stance.
