In a tight race, it’s the small things that make a big impact.
That was evident in John Kitzhaber’s race against Republican Chris Dudley – a race that was neck and neck until the very end. It was a tight race and Kitzhaber was running not only against Dudley, but also against a rising tide of frustration with Democrats. Kitzhaber ended up with the win – due in part to an effective and genuine Facebook campaign.
Kitzhaber’s Facebook campaign caught the attention of the LA Times Top of the Ticket blog:
Kitzhaber grabbed the Ticket’s attention not for having Obama stump for him (instead of requesting First Lady Michelle Obama, as numerous pols nationwide recently have done) but for an innovative Facebook campaign to get his followers to change their profile picture to one supporting him.
Kitzhaber posted 37 brightly designed buttons all boasting his Vote Kitz slogan to his Facebook page over the weekend alongside a video showing his more than 18,000 followers how to replace their profile pic with one of his buttons.
It may, in the Ticket’s opinion, have a better chance of raising his electoral hopes than stumping with Obama (even in heavily left-leaning Oregon).
In the end, the small reminder that those “Vote Kitz” logos served as voters surfed Facebook likely played a big part in propelling Kitzhaber to victory.