Americans turn to Web for election race news

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-16  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

THE Internet now plays a central role in United States politics, with nearly half of all Americans using the Web to follow the presidential campaign, says a study released yesterday.

Some 17 percent of all adults said they daily scoured political Websites, read campaign e-mails and text messages, or otherwise used the Internet to keep up with the election, the Pew Internet and American Life Project found.

That's more than double the 8 percent of adults who followed on the Internet daily at the same point in the 2004 race. The figure is likely to grow even more by the November election, said Lee Rainie, the non-profit group's director.

"We've seen an evolution of the Internet and its role in politics that has been pretty striking," Rainie said.

Supporters of Democratic candidate Barack Obama and John McCain, his Republican rival, showed similar rates of Internet use, the study found.

But the study pointed to a Democratic edge. Sixty-five percent of Obama supporters said they followed politics online, compared to 56 percent of McCain supporters.

The nonprofit group polled 2,251 adults in April and May. The study has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

The Internet has played a growing role in presidential races since 1996, when Republican challenger Bob Dole gave out the wrong address for his Website during a debate with President Bill Clinton.

McCain pioneered online fund-raising in the 2000 race, and in 2004 Howard Dean rode the blogosphere to the front of the Democratic field before fizzling out.

Online video sites like YouTube and social networks like Facebook and MySpace have emerged as important media in the 2008 race.

The Pew survey found that 35 percent of Americans have watched online political videos, while 10 percent have used social networks to become involved in the campaign.