Links for Golden Dot Judges: Outstanding State Online Campaign

Pat LaMarche — Pat2006.com

Please feel free to browse any part of this website. However, because it contains over 350 pages, below are direct links to some key pages that show the evolution of the website as it supported new messaging and outreach initiatives in the growing campaign. (Note that the volunteer, contribute, and subscribe pages have been disabled because the website is no longer active.)

The success of the Lamarche for Governor website can be measured in several ways. First, the website iself was judged to be so strong by the Library of Congress that, even before the election was over, the Library decided to archive it for posterity as one of the best websites of 2006. Second, local newspapers and blogs singled out the site for praise, citing also the text messaging, online townhall meeting, and email newsletter aspects of the campaign. Most important, the website gave credibility to the campaign and its focus on universal healthcare. For the first time, the public debate about universal statewide healthcare has shifted from calling it "unrealistic" and "unachieveable" to calling it "necessary" and "common sense." Another visible result is that there is now a growing grassroots movement in Maine that favors making universal healthcare a statewide referendum issue in 2008.

  • Home page: Beginning of campaign (Feb. 15)
    This was early in the campaign, as the candidate announced her ballot petition drive (which later succeeded) and her tour of college campuses across Maine.
  • Home page: End of campaign (Nov. 6)
    Note how the site has dramatically changed. The left-side navbars now have links to issues, TV and radio spots, a multimedia archive showcasing her strong performances in televised debates, an interactive healthcare costs calculator, an interactive issues comparison feature, and more. Note also the animated feature getting voters to consider crossing party lines to vote for Pat. This web feature reinforced the television campaign that featured supporters willing to cross party lines (see ads aimed at persuadable Republicans and Democrats). As Election Day neared, we were surprised that both her opponents ran robocalls that increased her name recognition — specifically mentioning her by name and asking voters not to support her.
  • Web announcement of benefit concert (Mar. 5)
    The goal of this concert was to draw a turnout of voters to sign her ballot petition. When it's winter in Maine, it helps to give people more than one reason to come to your event. Throughout the campaign, the web team worked closely with the ground team to help drive the voters to Pat's personal appearances. For example, here's a page showing events during the month of July. The increased pace of the campaign was reflected in the Events Page listings for October and November. Note that the web staff made sure that the events page had recent photos, and was not merely a dry wall of text.
  • Clean Elections audio message (Apr. 6)
    This message reminded voters to send in their $5 donation to the Maine Clean Elections fund. The LaMarche for Governor campaign was successful in qualifying for clean elections funding.
  • Announcing success and thanking the voters (Apr. 14)
  • Recruiting volunteers (Feb. 28)
    Our database statistics showed that having a personal audio or video message from the candidate was by far the best way to get people to sign up as volunteers on the website.
  • Getting out the vote on Primary Day (Jun. 13)
  • TV Ad:  Healthcare Plan for Maine (Aug. 11)
    Universal healthcare for Mainers was Pat's key issue. Note that the website provides multiple ways for voters to absorb the message. Links directly under the TV ad take voters to the press release, Healthcare Plan announcement speech, praise from local newspapers, and even the healthcare ad script — posted on the "Lower Taxes" page. The website strategy included helping voters make the connection between universal healthcare and lower taxes, achieved through common-sense fiscal management of healthcare costs.
  • Calculator (Oct. 11)
    This very popular feature allowed voters to calculate exactly how much they will save under the LaMarche healthcare Plan.
  • Ad in Support of Bringing the National Guard Home (Sep. 21)
    This was a bold stand at the time, and Pat garnered earned media and a surge in support as a result.
  • Undecided voter feature (Oct. 23)
    Our server log showed that, in the days immediately preceding the election, only the Home page received more traffic than this page designed to persuade undecided voters.
  • Pages directed to key constituencies (Oct. 23)
       Republicans
       Democrats
       Business Owners
       Students
  • Vote for debate winner via mobile (Nov. 1)
    More about the mobile messaging campaign
  • Results of mobile poll announced (Nov. 2)
    The LaMarche website announced the results of her innovative mobile phone poll early November 2nd. The very next day, a local paper ran an article announcing that Pat's main opponent, the incumbent governor, had actually gone to the trouble to set up his own mock election among Maine students. However, while Pat's poll was targeted at voting age college students and other adults via mobile phone, the governor did not use mobile technology and thus his poll represented only elementary school students — which, of course, only made his poll seem comical and gave Pat's poll even better publicity.
  • Election Day (Nov. 6)
    Supporting the ground campaign, the website features GOTV messages and messages aimed at undecided voters.