The 2000 presidential election was the first in which the
Internet was used as a significant -- even primary -- tool for
disseminating political and campaign information. And as the 2004
election fast approaches, presidential candidate Howard Dean, who
has mobilized a legion of political supporters online, has proven
the effectiveness of the Internet as a campaign tool. Gallup data
suggest that this medium, novel and innovative just eight years
ago, has become an essential component of the American political
realm.
A January 2000 Gallup Poll showed that just under a third of
Americans (31%) "frequently" or "occasionally" used the Internet to
get news or information about politics or the presidential
candidates, with just 16% falling into the top category
(frequently). More than half (54%) said they never used the
Internet for these purposes.
Those percentages have increased significantly in the past four
years. Data from a January 2004 survey* show that today, nearly
half (49%) of Americans use the Internet at least occasionally to
get political or candidate information, with 28% saying they do so
frequently. Slightly more than a third (35%) say they never log on
to get political or candidate information. Because Gallup polling
typically finds that about a third of Americans don't use the
Internet at all, these data suggest that most Internet users are
getting at least some political information from the Web.
The rise in Internet use for campaign information has occurred
among most demographic groups. Younger Americans are one notable
exception -- they were already using the Internet at fairly high
rates early in the 2000 campaign.
Several major factors are responsible for the public's increased
use of the Internet this election year: the market penetration of
computers and Internet services; news sites and portals covering
political events in greater breadth and depth; and the fact that
the presidential candidates are doing far more of their
fundraising, volunteer-recruiting, and campaigning online than they
ever have before.
Who's Online?
A demographic breakdown of this question turns up the usual
suspects when it comes to frequent Internet use. Age, gender,
income, and education level are the best predictors of whether an
individual uses the Internet for political and candidate
information.
Men are more likely than women to log on frequently for those
purposes (34% to 22%). The percentages of men and women using the
Internet frequently for political information have both increased
significantly since 2000, although the percentage of men has
increased slightly more (10 percentage points for men, 6 for
women).
With regard to age, the percentage of Americans saying they
frequently get candidate information online drops dramatically
among those aged 65 and older. Only 11% of Americans over 65 use
the Internet frequently for political information, compared with
28% of 50- to 64-year-olds, 34% of 30- to 49-year-olds, and 32% of
18- to 29-year-olds. Frequent use of the Internet for political
information has not changed among the youngest age group (18- to
29-year-olds) when compared with the 2000 data, however there have
been increases of 7 to 10 percentage points among the other age
categories.
Nearly half of Americans with a postgraduate education (48%) say
they frequently use the Internet to get political information; this
percentage decreases steadily by education level. Sixteen percent
of those with a high school education or less frequently access
political information online. Frequent use of the Internet for
political information has also increased most significantly (18
percentage points) between 2000 and 2004 among postgraduates. The
smallest increase (five percentage points) occurred among those
with a high school education or less.
The percentage of people saying they frequently use the Internet
for political news and information also spikes significantly among
those with annual household incomes above $75,000 (45% do). Those
with lower income levels are less likely to log on for political
information, as no more than 30% of those in income groups below
$75,000 say they use the Internet often to find campaign
information. Interestingly, the percentage using the Internet
frequently for this purpose has increased very little since the
last presidential election among the middle-income categories, but
has increased more significantly among those in the lowest (less
than $30,000, a 15-point increase) and highest ($75,000 or more, a
16-point increase) income levels.
Bottom Line
Throughout the early stages of this campaign, Dean has been
touted for successfully using the Internet to drum up support. Dean
has raised millions of dollars over the Internet (his campaign
raised a total of $40 million in 2003), and organized political
supporters from across the country using Web sites. If Gallup's
findings are any indication, Dean's campaign will serve as a model
for presidential candidates in 2004, 2008, and beyond.
*Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,029
national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Jan. 2-5, 2004. For
results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say
with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is
±3 percentage points.
