Washington – The surging number of campaign contributors in 2004, especially small donors who gave online, changed the character of one of the most important constituencies in U.S. politics: the people who finance presidential elections.
This key group has become more reflective of the middle class, has a higher percentage of women and is more willing to contribute without being solicited.
The new small donors, who played a much bigger role in 2004 than in the past, are polarized to the left and right on ideological, cultural and economic issues in much the same way that large givers are, according to a survey by the Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet at George Washington University of donors who used the Internet and those using other means.
“The presidential campaign of 2004 was a watershed moment in political fundraising because of the convergence of a new regulatory regime, a bitterly fought campaign and closely divided electorate, and the increasing sophistication of Internet technology,” wrote Joseph Graf, project director of the institute, and three colleagues.
Among the major findings in the 64-page report are:
The Internet is perhaps the most important development in political fundraising, and Democrats appear to have taken better advantage of it than Republicans. More than half of Democrats gave online, more than double the percentage of Republicans. More than 80 percent of the contributions by people ages 18 to 34 were made online.
Financial supporters of Democrat John Kerry were motivated by their animosity for President Bush in much larger numbers than Bush contributors were driven by dislike of Kerry.
The differences between Republican and Democratic donors on issues including taxes, gay marriage and privatization of Social Security are enormous, much larger than in the general public.
