Critique of Mark Udall's New Media Usage

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Critique(and(Recommendations(for(New(Media(Use(in(Mark(Udalls(2014(Senate(Campaign(Kate%Sylvester%An#analysis#and#critique#of#how#new#media#was#used#in#Mark#Udalls#2014#campaign#for#United#States#Senate#

08 Fall(

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Table(of(Contents(

EXECUTIVE(SUMMARY( 2!CURRENT(STRATEGIC(NEW(MEDIA(LANDSCAPE( 2!RECOMMENDATIONS( 3!PR(FUNCTIONS( 4!PUBLICS( 4!MESSAGES( 5!PLATFORMS( 6!MEASUREMENT( 7!CONCLUSION( 8!REFERENCES( 9!APPENDIX( 10!APPENDIX(A:(NEW(MEDIA(COMMUNICATION(AUDIT( 10!APPENDIX(B:(BLOG(MONITORING(REPORT( 14!BLOG%REPORT%ANALYSIS%(BLOG%REPORT%#3)% 14%BLOG%MONITORING%CHART! 17!

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Executive(Summary(Mark Udalls reelection campaign used five different new media platforms; however, these

platforms were not used to their fullest potential in terms of post frequency, cohesion,

interactivity and effectiveness. The new media content used throughout the campaign focused on

targeting the same publics the overall campaign targeted, rather than those publics who are most

active and involved on new media. The new media strategy also underutilized Vine and

Instagram and ignored the importance of two-way communication.

Current(Strategic(New(Media(Landscape(

New media is a critical part of todays communication world. Many people now get their news

from new media before looking to other news sources, with one third of adults under age 30

claiming they receive their news from social media (Sonderman).

Throughout the past few election cycles, social medias role in political campaigns has been

steadily growing. Social medias role in political campaigns took off during President Obamas

2008 presidential campaign, which was the first of its kind to heavily focus on social media

outreach (Baig). Ever since Obamas first campaign social media has played an increasingly

important role in allowing candidates and elected officials to connect with their voters (Baig).

According to Pews 2014 Social Networking Fact Sheet 74 percent of adults now use some kind

of social networking site, with Facebook remaining the most popular (Pew Research Center).

With so many adults engaging on social media it is clear that it is becoming an essential source

of information during political campaigns. In the 2014 election cycle there was the largest

growth in the use of social media to track political candidates (Smith). According to Pews Cell

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Phones, Social Media and Campaign 2014 study, more than twice as many Americans are

following political candidates on social media now as were during the midterms in 2010 so

engaging with voters on social media is even more relevant this election than before (Smith).

Finally, according to Mashables Case Study in Social Media Demographics, for most social

media sites college students are the majority of the sites users and 57 percent of Facebook users

have completed some college with 24 percent having earned a bachelors or masters degree

(Skelton). In the future, social media will continue to play a critical role in politics because it is a

channel of direct communication between the government and the governed so for Udall,

interacting with voters on new media is critical in expanding this channel of direct

communication (Silverman).

Bloggers and the news media both put the the most focus on the comparison between Udall and

Gardners campaigns, focusing on polling data, political ads and the candidates policy issues.

Udall received blog coverage locally from The Denver Post and nationally from bloggers at the

Washington Post, Roll Call and The Hill. The Colorado senate race took a national spotlight

because it was identified as one of the years closest races. One key piece of advice for Udall in

terms of blogs comes from my interview with Joey Bunch of The Denver Post. Bunch said

candidates, like Udall, need to make sure to connect with key political opinion leaders in the area

in order to get blog coverage from those leading local bloggers.

Recommendations(

The key recommendation for Udalls campaign is to increase two-way interactive

communication and integration of all five platforms. A major flaw in the campaigns new media

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strategy is the lack of two-way interactive communication. On Twitter and Facebook Udall

rarely responded to comments or tweets from voters asking him questions. On Vine and

Instagram the campaign hardly followed any other accounts, meaning there was little interaction

and interactivity with other accounts. On Vine specifically Udall is not following any other

accounts, which goes against the entire purpose of social media and its interactivity.

PR(Functions(Crisis Communication: New media enables real time responses to crises that arise. The

campaign could use new media to push out information and issue statements to voters/followers

in response to crisis communication situations like negative statements from Gardner.

Media Relations: New media would help Udall foster connections with local reporters by

sharing their work and interacting with them on social media. Facebook and Twitter could be

used to share relevant articles to build relationships with those specific reporters.

Relationship Management: Relationship management is a key function of new media for the

campaign because it involves building a closer relationship with voters and allowing them to

build a more personal relationship with him through social media.

Issue Management: New media can be used for issue management in order to control particular

policy positions and issue stances Udall takes during the campaign. The campaign could

integrate his position on certain issues into elements on each social media platforms, such as

infographic posts or videos identifying key problems he will address once elected.

Publics(They key publics Udalls new media strategy should focus on are undecided voters, active

campaign supporters, active party supporter and younger voters. One key element to keep in

mind when developing his publics is that while he wants to engage with as many people as

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possible on social media, the end goal of his social media efforts is still to convince people to

vote for him on Election Day. Because his end goal is gaining votes on Election Day, his primary

publics should all be Colorado residents who are eligible to vote. The active party supporters are

a secondary public because are people who help Udall get votes but cannot actually vote for him

- their support is not as essential as is the support of people who can actually vote for him.

Key publics Young voters: Voters between 18-29 who tend to be more active on social media. Undecided voters: Voters who can be convinced to vote for Udall. Active campaign supporters: Voters who are confident they will support Udall and may be

campaign volunteers. They are the most likely to share Udalls media posts with others. Active party supporters: Udall supporters who are often well-known Democrats, like

Hillary Clinton, who will stump for him and support him via sharing on social media.

Messages(

Facebook(Message: Mark Udall is the best candidate for Colorados U.S. Senate seat. Example post: Post infographics that highlight positive changes Udall has already brought to Colorado while in the Senate and the benefits the state has seen because of him. Target public: Active campaign supporters Rationale: It is important to involve and engage with the most active campaign supporters so that they will be more inclined to share Udalls Facebook posts on their own Facebook.

Twitter(Message: Mark Udall listens to voters and supports the needs of Colorado voters. Example post: Udall will host a Twitter chat or AMA (ask me anything) conversation on Twitter where he will actively respond to questions sent to him by other Twitter users. Target public: Undecided voters Rationale: By allowing undecided voters to have the chance to ask Mark Udall questions through Twitter it will open the channels of communication and allow one on one communication between Udall and potential voters.

Instagram(Message: Mark Udall cares deeply about the issues affecting Colorado voters the most. Example post: Post pictures of Udall interacting with various groups of voters throughout the state, highlight specific issues like student loans or womens rights. Target public: Young voters Rationale: Instagram will be targeted at young voters who are active on Instagram and might be willing to engage with Udall on Instagram if they can relate to a video posted.

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Vine(Message: Mark Udall engages with voters across the state, visiting students on college campuses statewide to hear what they want their senator to do in Congress. Example post: Post a video of Udall speaking to students at Colorado college campuses. The short videos posted on Vine would show students saying what is important in this election for them and why they are voting for Mark Udall. Target public: Younger voters Rationale: Vines of Udall interacting with college students, or of college students saying why they support him, would be more likely to encourage other young voters to support him.

YouTube(Message: Udall is the best candidate in Colorado and will uphold the values of the Democratic Party in the U.S. Senate. Example post: Post a video of famous politicians, like Hillary Clinton or Elizabeth Warren, speaking about why supporting Udall in this election is key for the future hopes of the Democratic Party nationwide. Target public: Active party supporters Rationale: By getting active party supporters, like Elizabeth Warren, to share videos of them stumping for Udall it might convince other CO voters who support them to support Udall.

Platforms(

Facebook(The Facebook page should be used to more effectively communicate with voters. Udall should

respond to comments on Facebook, share statements from voters and encourage voters to share

his posts for an effective two-way communications strategy.

Twitter(

Twitter should be used more interactivity so that it is a platform to engage with voters who have

questions about policy positions or campaign events. The campaign should host Twitter chats

with Udall and Ask Me Anything conversations to encourage this interaction. The campaign

also needs a more direct and relevant hashtag to symbolize the campaign.

Instagram(

The Instagram account needs to be utilized weekly if not daily, this can be achieved by following

Instagram trends like Throwback Thursday. Instagram posts should use different messages than

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Facebook and should be more informal and casual in their tone. Udalls campaign website also

needs to provide a link encouraging people to follow his Instagram.

Vine(

Vine needs to be used regularly rather than just as a platform for posting videos in tweets; Vine

should be used at least once a week to increase interactivity. Udall currently follows 0 accounts

on Vine when the account should follows hundreds of accounts. The Vine account needs to be

promoted on the campaigns website like how Facebook and Twitter currently are linked.

YouTube(

The YouTube videos all need to have captions describing what is going on in the video, who is

in it, why it is relevant and when it was taken. The YouTube account should be promoted on the

campaigns website so that voters know the campaign is using the platform.

Measurement(The ideal way to measure the effectiveness of new media in Mark Udalls campaign would be to

measure how many people engaged with one of his social media pages and then ended up voting

for him on Election Day.

Crisis Communication: The effectiveness of new media in crisis communication can be

measured by how quickly issues are diffused when they arise. The effectiveness can be measured

based on how Udalls polling numbers change following criticism or crisis and then how they

rebound following a crisis response on social media.

Media Relations: To evaluate the effectiveness of new media on media relations you can look at

how many reporters or bloggers the campaign engaged with on new media compared to how

many of those people actually covered the campaign. You can also evaluate whether engaging

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with reporters on new media caused them to cover the campaign more positively than they had

been before engaging on new media.

Relationship Management: New media can be used to evaluate and measure relationship

management by measuring the growth and reach of each social media platform and how that

changes over the course of the campaign. The relationships developed with voters through new

media can be evaluated by measuring the number of people who have followed one of Udalls

new media accounts with how many people actually ended up voting for him.

Issue Management: The effectiveness of new media in managing issues can be measured by the

volume of conversation on specific policy issues on social media. New media's effectiveness can

be measured and evaluated through the use of policy specific hashtags.

Conclusion(

Overall, the campaign can improve its use of new media by increasing interactivity and by

utilizing all five platforms to their fullest extent. While the campaign had accounts on the five

popular new media platform discussed, the campaign really only focused on Twitter and

Facebook. Vine, Instagram and YouTube posts should be able to stand alone, rather than just

being used to support posts on Facebook and Twitter. The biggest change the new media strategy

needs is in interaction; new media should be fostering two-way communication but without

Udall responding to any comments on social media this cannot happen. Finally, one of the

simplest, but most important, improvements Udall can make to his new media strategy is to

promote, and include links to, all five social media platforms on his campaign website. Currently

only links to his Facebook and Twitter account exist on his campaign website. Without clear

links to his Instagram, Vine and YouTube it is no surprise that there are few followers on them.

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References(Baig, M. (2013, September 19). How Social Media Is Changing Politics, From Wendy Davis To

Anthony Weiner. Retrieved December 4, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/19/youtube-politics_n_3958533.html

Silverman, M. (2010, November 1). The Future of Social Media and Politics. Retrieved

December 4, 2014, from http://mashable.com/2010/11/01/future-social-media-politics/ Skelton, A. (2012, March 9). Social Demographics: Who's Using Today's Biggest Networks

[INFOGRAPHIC]. Retrieved December 4, 2014, from http://mashable.com/2012/03/09/social-media-demographics/

Smith, A. (2014, November 3). Cell Phones, Social Media and Campaign 2014. Retrieved

December 4, 2014, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/11/03/cell-phones-social-media-and-campaign-2014/

Social Networking Fact Sheet. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2014, from

http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/social-networking-fact-sheet/ Sonderman, J. (2012, September 27). One-third of adults under 30 get news on social networks

now. Retrieved December 3, 2014, from http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawire/189776/one-third-of-adults-under-30-get-news-on-social-networks-now/

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Appendix(

Appendix(A:(New(Media(Communication(Audit(

Communication(Audit(of(New(Media(in(Mark(Udalls(2014(Colorado(Senate(Campaign(

Platform Followers Frequency Engagement Level Potential Publics Content Type

Facebook 14,639 likes 2-4 posts/day

High 50-1,000+ likes/post, 10-200+ shares/post

Voters, Democrat supporters, volunteers

Photos, sharing articles/videos, policy statements

Twitter 2,569 followers

5-20 posts/day (879 total)

Average 5-100+ retweets/post, average between 15-40, usually 8-15 favorites/post

Younger voters, Democrat supporters, other CO candidates (retweets)

Infographics, photos, videos, information about next campaign stop or voting dates, policy statements/positions

Instagram 145 followers 70 posts; inconsistent; 1-3/week

Low 10-30 likes/post, no comments

Strong supporters, young voters, campaign volunteers

Photos of volunteers & constituents at campaign stops on the Mark Your Ballot bus tour, infographics

Vine 34 followers; 13,342 loops total

10 posts; inconsistent

Low Few likes/no comments, top post has 5,921 loops, lowest post has 35 loops

Younger voters; campaign volunteers

Infographic videos about policy issues, videos at campaign stops

YouTube 377 subscribers

101 posts (past year)

High 40-85,000+ views/post, comments disabled

Undecided voters, campaign volunteers

Campaign ads, speeches, videos from rallies & bus stops, voter comments

**Data as of October 30, 2014. Analysis:

Throughout Senator Mark Udalls reelection campaign new media platforms have played

heavily into the efforts to get out the vote and engage with both current supporters and voters

across Colorado. The campaign currently uses five different social media platforms: Facebook,

Twitter, Instagram, Vine and YouTube. All five platforms are used to convey the same message:

Udall is the best candidate to represent Colorado in the Senate and Colorado voters need to

remember to vote by November 4th. The online communication system is streamlined with the

overall campaign goals and objectives because it only posts messaging and content in line with

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the campaigns overall goal of reelecting Udall. The messages delivered through all platforms

convey this same message just in different ways; however, all posts have use a consistent

organizational voice in line with the campaigns messaging. The new media content and

messaging addresses key campaign issues such as womens right, voter turnout, Colorado policy

issues and allegations from Gardners campaign.

The campaigns online communications accomplish the PR functions relevant to political

campaigns including crisis communication - to address allegations from Gardners campaign - as

well as relationship management to build relationships with potential voters. The campaign also

uses new media for issue management in order to guide the conversation about Udalls stance on

certain issues, particularly womens issues. The campaigns new media content seldom includes

two-way, interactive communication and instead relies on one-way communication to push their

message out to voters. While there are many tweets and Facebook comments to Udall he rarely

respond to them.

The campaign uses Facebook and Twitter daily to post text, graphics, photos and videos

that combine to convey these key campaign messages. The Facebook posts include longer posts

and lots of photos of Udall on the campaign trail. The posts on Twitter use relevant hashtags, like

#MarkYourBallot and #cosenate, and straightforward messaging about what sets Udall apart

from his opponent. The campaign uses Vine, Instagram and YouTube to complement Facebook

and Twitter; however these platforms solely focus on photo and video. These three platforms do

not individually have many followers, as can be seen in the chart above, but the posts on them

are shared on Twitter and Facebook enabling them to reach a larger audience. All of Udalls

public statements, rallies and campaign ads are posted through YouTube. The posts on Vine

include videos from campaign events because the platform allows them to be quickly posted on

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Twitter. The photos posted on Instagram capture the spirit of Udall and his constituents out on

the campaign trail as noted in the above chart.

On new media, the organization focuses on current supporters and volunteers as their key

publics, as noted in the above chart, because these publics will likely share the new media posts

with their own unique followers, which enables the campaign to reach the largest audience.

Many of the platforms also target younger voters with infographics and videos, such as a Vine

infographic about what Udall will do to improve student loans. Another key public is undecided

or independent voters who are more likely to turn to social media to help make a decision about

who to vote for.

The campaigns most efficient and effective online media activity is the Facebook page

and the photos and statuses shared on it. As seen in the above chart, the campaign Facebook

account has the most followers and greatest reach of any of the campaigns new media platforms.

The account is most successful because the posts receive hundreds of likes, comments and

shares, enabling thousands of supporters to share their feelings on the campaign with their

followers. The chart above shows that although Udall typically posts only about two or three

times a day on Facebook, yet these posts receive thousands of likes and hundreds of shares

unlike content on other platforms. The Twitter account is also effective because of the large

number of retweets, usually 15-40, per post, enabling the tweets are being seen by other peoples

followers rather than just the accounts followers. The post frequency on Twitter is greatest of

any platform, with 5-20 posts per day, meaning Twitter allows the greatest variety of messages

and content types of any platform used.

As noted the campaign uses Vine, Instagram and YouTube less frequently than Facebook

and Twitter. All three of these accounts have fewer followers and less frequent posts, their

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content merely supports that of the main platforms. These platforms are not used to the extent

Facebook and Twitter are; the Vine and Instagram accounts both have less than 200 followers.

These accounts exist to support the two main platforms and allow photos and videos to be easily

posted. Links to the posts on these three accounts frequently appear on the two main accounts,

which caused the increased number of views on each (some YouTube posts have over 50,000

views). There is a significant discrepancy in the effectiveness of these platforms, particularly

Vine and YouTube, because while some posts have thousands of views or loops others have less

than 50.

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Appendix(B:(Blog(Monitoring(Report(

Blog(Report(Analysis((Blog(Report(#3)( Purpose: The Colorado senate race is set to be one of the closest races in the 2014 midterm

election season, monitoring the online conversations about both candidates and the race in

general is critical this close to the election. With November 4th less than a month away the online

conversation is getting more focused on both candidates, with specific polling, advertising and

policy issues being the major focus of most blog posts and news stories recently. The blog

coverage of both candidates, as well as the Colorado elections overall, is increasing both locally

and nationally as the election nears.

Political elections and campaigns are a very popular topic in blogs, especially those local to

the individual election and those specific to the Hill. Blog coverage of the 2014 campaign trail is

often included in most major news outlets, such as the Washington Post, New York Times, LA

Times etc., but their coverage of specific candidates might not be as thorough. Fortunately, the

Colorado Senate race is one of the key, competitive races this election season so there is a good

amount of coverage of the race as a whole by these national outlets and blogs. Other coverage on

these sites often focuses on the midterm elections as a whole, discussing the seats Democrats and

Republicans each need to win or identifying how voters nationwide are leaning for this specific

election cycle.

Methodology: I conducted my preliminary research, before selecting the five blogs to monitor,

by searching for news stories about the Colorado candidates and the 2014 Senate race in

particular. I also went to news outlets that I knew heavily covered elections and campaigns, such

as those newspapers targeted at the Hill, and searched their sites to see what blogs they had

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specifically for campaigns and if those blogs had any focus on the Colorado race and candidates.

I also researched the major news outlets in Colorado and found the newspaper with the highest

distribution and readership rates (The Denver Post according to the Posts media kit and

Allyoucanread.com) and searched for their blog coverage of politics and campaigns in the state.

I decided the specific five blogs I wanted to cover by reviewing how much coverage each

of the preliminary blogs I visited had of the two Colorado senate candidates (Mark Udall and

Cory Gardner). I made sure to select a variety of blogs to cover including ones specifically from

Colorado and ones that cover the Hill more generally.

Results

Polling: When I first started monitoring the blogs most of them reported polling data that

showed the race was split with about half of the voters supporting each candidate in polls. Now

however, data reported in The Fix and Ballot Box, shows that while the seat is still a tossup,

Cory Gardner has a slight edge. The recent posts in Ballot Box have reported that Rep. Gardner

has a slight lead over the incumbent Udall. Many blog posts I found included the Colorado

senate race as one of the top 10 or even five races that will decide the balance of the Senate. The

Denver Post blog, The Spot, also covered the Posts endorsement of Gardner this year, even after

endorsing Udall in the past.

Political Ads: The blog posts often focused on the topics covered in political ads on TV in

Colorado about the candidates. A blog post in The Fix discussed how more than half of Udalls

ads were about womens issue leading to his label of using womens issues as his main topic. A

blog post by Ballot Box also focused on the percentage of ads bought by each candidate,

reporting that over 50 percent of ads in Colorado support Gardner.

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Policy issues: A main issue in many blog posts I saw was the key policy issues the candidates

have been talking about. Some of these key issues are womens issues, particularly abortion and

contraception, climate change, immigration, ISIS and Medicare. Both The Fix and At the Races

blogs included posts about the controversy of Gardners previous support of a personhood bill in

Congress, and his recent position change on the issue.

Conclusion: In conclusion, my blog monitoring has shown me what the key issues both

candidates and voters are concerned with in the Colorado race. I now understand the key topics

the media and particularly bloggers are focusing on when it comes to the events and issues

related to the campaign. Based on the blog coverage I can tell that the key issues related to the

Colorado senate race include polling data, the races importance, campaign spending, debate

coverage, political ads and, most importantly, the different policy issues and stances of

candidates. I realized that most of the coverage on blogs includes information about the Colorado

race as being one of the key races in deciding the control of the senate. I think my blog

monitoring is very effective but it would be more effective if I were able to set up search alerts

for posts in the blogs specifically.

My blog monitoring findings apply to my organizations use of new media because both

candidates use their social media platforms as ways to respond to topics that criticize them and to

promote positive coverage they are getting in blog posts and news articles.

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Blog%Monitoring%Chart% Name of Blog

The Fix (Washington Post)

Author Chris Cillizza

Source Credibility

Chris Cillizza is one of the top 10 most influential Twitter accounts in politics according to Burson-Marsteller.

According to his Washington Post biography, Chris Cillizza has experience covering the White House for the Washington Post and has appeared as a guest on NBC, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, Fox News Channel and CNN all to talk about politics.

Chris Cillizzas Twitter account (TheFix) has a Klout score of 80. Chris Cillizzas Twitter account has 211K followers and 51.8K tweets making him an active and engaged

voice in politics and campaigns.

Comments about the client

These five races will decide control of the Senate (September 26, 2014) 10. Colorado (D): The last three polls in this race all showed Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) leading, with two

of them being within the margin of error. The latest was Democratic-leaning automated pollster Public Policy Polling, which showed Gardner up two on Thursday. We've been a little slow to label this one a toss-up, but the evidence is certainly pushing it in that direction. (Previous ranking: 10)

The Odds of Republicans winning the Senate are growing (September 29, 2014) The other big change in Republicans' favor is in Colorado. Seven days ago , FiveThirtyEight's model called

the state a true 50-50 tossup while Leo gave Sen. Mark Udall (D) a 55 percent chance of winning and Election Lab was even more optimistic for Udall at 67 percent. All three models today agree that Rep. Cory Gardner (R) is a (slight) favorite; FiveThirtyEight says Gardner has a 56 percent probability of winning while Leo is at 61 percent and Election Lab 66 percent. Like Alaska, several new surveys have show movement in Gardner's direction.

Republicans hold small but steady edge in battle for Senate majority (October 6, 2014) In Colorado, Election Lab (70 percent Republican) and, more narrowly, FiveThirtyEight (53 percent) see

Rep. Cory Gardner (R) as the favorite. LEO basically rates the race a pure toss-up, but gives the slightest of edges -- 51 percent chance of victory -- to Sen. Mark Udall (D). If you assume Orman wins (and caucuses with Democrats) and Gardner wins, that would be a net seven seat pickup for Republicans -- giving the GOP 52 seats and Senate control come January.

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Mark Udall has been dubbed Mark Uterus on the campaign trail. Thats a problem. (October 13 at 2:52 PM) Colorado Democratic Sen. Mark Udall has talked about contraception and abortion more than just about any

other 2014 candidate. Roughly half of his ads are about women's issues. The focus has been so intense that Udall has been nicknamed "Mark Uterus," with local reporter Lynn Bartels of the Denver Post joking that if the race were a movie, it would be set in a gynecologist's office. In a debate between Udall and Rep. Cory Gardner last week, Bartels, who moderated, used the moniker to describe him.

For all of that focus and the insistence from Democrats that Gardner's record on women's issues was the key to Udall's reelection the incumbent has watched the race slipping from his grasp in recent weeks, an erosion that many strategists believe speaks to the limits of the "war on women" strategy.

Republicans are favored to win the Senate in 22 days. But, how sure are we about it? (October 13 at 11:18 AM) As you might expect, the gaps in the certainty of the overall outcome are also reflected race to race. The two

most prominent examples are in Colorado and Iowa. Let's look at each individually.* Colorado: Election Lab (80 percent chance GOP win), FiveThirtyEight (57 percent GOP), LEO (57 percent GOP)

In both races, the Republican candidate -- Rep. Cory Gardner in Colorado, state Sen. Joni Ernst in Iowa -- does lead in composite polling averages albeit vary narrowly. Ernst holds a .8 percentage point edge over Rep. Bruce Braley while Gardner leads Sen. Mark Udall (D) by 1.3 points. Both parties are spending heavily in both states and the outcome still seems very much up in the air.

If every race broke the way the majority of the models believe they will, Republicans today would win eight Democratic seats (Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia) while losing one of their own (Kansas) for a net seven seat gain -- one more than they need to retake the majority.

The Denver Post picks Cory Gardner and has a record of picking winners (October 10, 2014) Cory Gardner (R) won the endorsement of the Denver Post in Colorado's contentious Senate race on Friday.

The endorsement of the largest newspaper would be a boost for a candidate in any state, but given the Post's recent track record, it's a particularly good sign. Of the last 11 Senate and presidential races, the Post-endorsed candidate has won nine times.

The 13 races that will decide Senate control (October 10, 2014) While GOP fortunes in Kansas and once-top-targeted North Carolina are looking surprising iffy, the

movement of Colorado and Iowa in Republicans' favor over the last few weeks could even allow them to sustain losses in those unexpected places. Both Rep. Cory Gardner (R) in Colorado and state Sen. Joni Ernst (R) in Iowa have the momentum in their respective races, but Democrats remain optimistic that they can turn both back their way.

9. Colorado (D): There was a moment in a debate this week in which you could practically see Sen. Mark

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Udall (D-Colo.) handing Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) a quote for an attack ad talking about voting to cut Medicare Advantage. Gardner was already ascendant in the race, and is looking more like a favorite right now. Polls from Fox News and Quinnipiac in recent weeks have put Gardner up six and eight points, respectively. Suffolk University, meanwhile had Udall within a point. (Previous ranking: 10)

How the blog impacts the client

This blog impacts the client because The Fix is one of the leading political blogs in existence, with a strong following and strong reputation. Chris Cillizza has an active and engaged following on social media and the stories he posts gain traction easily. He writes about campaigns throughout the nation, including the Colorado Senate race. When the clients name is mentioned in his blog it is receiving national attention. This blog is one of the leading, if not the leading, blog for politics and campaigns nationally. Other blogs reference this blog as a credible source for their information and accolades so it is one of the most influential blogs in the field. Our client needs to follow what Chris Cillizza is saying about the 2014 midterm elections in general as well as what he is saying about the Colorado Senate race.

Name of Blog

Ballot Box (The Hill)

Author Alexandra Jaffe and other Hill reporters

Source Credibility

Alexandra Jaffe, one of the main bloggers for Ballot Box has a Klout score of 65. Ballot box is referred to as The Hills permanent campaign blog, so unlike some political blogs, which only

focus on campaigns selectively during election season, Ballot Box strictly focuses on campaigns year-round. According to her LinkedIn, Alexandra Jaffe produces 3-10 blog posts, plus one freshly-reported piece,

daily. She also specifically covers House and Senate races, which gives her a specific focus on the 2014 campaign trail and how Colorado fits into it. She also has experience doing political reporting at a number of reputable news outlets, such as the National Journal and Roll Call in addition to a degree from Georgetown.

The Hill newspaper itself has the largest circulation on Capitol Hill, according to its website, and has a print circulation of over 24,000.


Colorado Senate hopefuls Udall, Gardner court controversy (October 6, 2014, 4:36pm) Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Rep. Cory Gardner (R) both courted controversy in the second debate of

their Senate battle on Monday afternoon. The vulnerable Democrat stood by his vote for ObamaCare and expressed support for a carbon tax, though he dodged when asked specifically if he would support a cap-and-trade bill. Affirming a line of attack from Republicans, Udall also said he voted for $800 billion in cuts to Medicare Advantage, but he said the cuts went to "shoring up [Medicare's] solvency." And Gardner tacked to the center on immigration, declaring that the "DREAM Act is going to be part of the solution on immigration

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reform" and that "an earned [legal] status for [illegal immigrants] is going to be part of the solution Democrats' 'war on women' falling flat in Colorado Senate (September 26, 2014)

Colorado Democrats are fretting that Sen. Mark Udalls (D-Colo.) war on women battle cry against Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) is starting to sound like a broken record. After a series of polls this past month have shown the race statistically tied or even with Gardner up, some Democrats are urging Udall to find a new refrain against his opponent, lest Republicans claim the seat in November

CAMPAIGN OVERNIGHT: GOP silent on gay marriage move (October 6, 2014, 7:12pm) CO-SEN (UDALL): Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) stood by his vote for ObamaCare and expressed support for

a carbon tax, and also admitted to voting for cuts to Medicare Advantage in his second debate with Rep. Cory Gardner (R). Gardner drew fire from Democrats for saying he didnt support the government shutdown and for expressing support for the DREAM Act, which hes previously opposed.

Dem pollster: We're 'likely' to hold Senate (October 06, 2014, 05:44 pm) Drilling down into four states where GQRR conducted extra polling offers further troubling news for

Democrats. In North Carolina, the survey shows Sen. Kay Hagan (D) leads GOP challenger Thom Tillis by 4 points, 45 percent to 41 percent. In Colorado, Sen. Mark Udall (D) is tied with GOP Rep. Cory Gardner at 45 percent, and in Iowa, Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley trails GOP state Sen. Joni Ernst, 44 percent to 45 percent. In Georgia, Democrat Michelle Nunn trails Republican David Perdue by 5 points, 41-46 percent.

GOP nabs ad edge in key Senate battlegrounds (October 1, 2014, 12:37pm) More than 50 percent of ads run in Colorado have supported Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), a major swing

from incumbent Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.)'s 16-point advertising advantage two weeks ago. There, the majority of pro-GOP ads came from outside groups.

GOP hopefuls make case to social conservatives (September 26, 2014, 6:00am) In Colorado, where Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) hopes to unseat Sen. Mark Udall (D), Democrats sought to

make an issue of Gardners support for a personhood amendment, which would have banned forms of birth control by giving constitutional rights to life forms at the point of fertilization. That led Gardner to reverse his position on the issue. This was a bad idea driven by good intentions," he told The Denver Post. I was not right. I can't support personhood now. I can't support personhood going forward. To do it again would be a mistake." The changing tides set up a challenge for GOP candidates who want to play to the base without turning off the middle

Senate GOP pouring $7M in key races (October 11, 2014, 07:36 am) The GOP Senate campaign arm will up ad buys by $1.5 million in Colorado, $1.45 million in Georgia, 1.25

million in Iowa, $1.2 million in New Hampshire and $1.0 million in both South Dakota and Alaska. Poll: Slim majority expect GOP to win Senate (October 10, 2014, 04:22 pm)

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All eyes are on a handful of states Arkansas, Alaska, Colorado, Louisiana, North Carolina, Kansas, Georgia and Iowa that will factor into which party leads the upper chamber in the next Congress.

Gardner wins key newspaper endorsement (October 10, 2014, 04:07 pm) The Denver Post is endorsing Republican Cory Gardner in his bid to unseat Colorado Democratic Sen. Mark

Udall, in one of 2014s key midterm races. The Post, which had endorsed Udall in 2008, praised the senator personally but did not mince words on his political impact, saying that he "is not perceived as a leader in Washington" and had attempted to "frighten voters rather than inspire them with a hopeful vision." "It's time for a change," the newspaper editorial board wrote. Gardner, who is giving up a safe House seat to challenge Udall, can offer "fresh leadership, energy and ideas" in the Senate, the Post added.

Poll: Key Senate battlegrounds tilting GOP (October 08, 2014, 09:08 pm) Colorado Rep. Cory Gardner leads Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Udall, 43 percent to 37 percent.

Gardners challenge to Udall the scion of a Colorado political family who has held his seat since 2008 surprised many observers when it was announced.

The poll surveyed likely voters in all four states, with a sample size of 706 voters in Alaska, 739 voters in Colorado, 706 voters in Kentucky and 707 voters in Arkansas. They were contacted by phone between Oct. 4 and Oct. 7. The polls margin of error was plus or minus 3.5 percent.

Compass or GPS? Colorado Senate candidates debate path forward (October 07, 2014, 10:58 pm) Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) sharpened their criticism of each other's record

in their second of three debates this week. Gardner said Udall was absent from key hearings on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and

hypocritical about equal pay, after admitting to voting for $800 million in cuts to Medicare Advantage. Gardner raises nearly $4.4M for 3rd Q (October 07, 2014, 08:51 am)

Colorado Republican Rep. Cory Gardner raised $4.35 million in the third fundraising quarter of the year, his campaign announced Tuesday. At the end of August, Gardner had $3.3 million cash on hand for the final stretch of his battle with Sen. Mark Udall (D). The campaign has also added $750,000 to its October ad buy.

Republican takes lead in new Colorado Senate poll (October 13, 2014, 05:23 pm) Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) has taken a slight lead over Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) in a new independent

survey of the Colorado Senate race. The survey, conducted by SurveyUSA for the Denver Post, which has endorsed Gardner, gives him 45 percent support to Udall's 43 percent support among likely voters. That aligns with a handful of other recent polls that have given Gardner a slight lead, but it marks a reversal of fortunes for Udall from the last Post poll, conducted about a month ago, which had Udall up by 4 percentage points. That 2-point lead is still within the poll's 4.1 percent margin of error. The survey was conducted Oct. 9-12.

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Warren to spend final campaign days with big-name candidates (October 13, 2014, 04:38 pm) Warrens efforts will take her to Colorado and Minnesota on behalf of her Democratic colleagues in the

Senate, Mark Udall and Al Franken. She will also head to Iowa looking to bolster the candidacy of four-term Rep. Bruce Braley (D) in his battle against Republican Joni Ernst to fill the open seat of the retiring Sen. Tom Harkin (D).

Warren, who many believe could launch a bid for the partys 2016 presidential nomination, said her efforts were motivated by Braleys statistical tie with Ernst, as well as a poll showing Udall down by six to extreme conservative Cory Gardner. Warren also said Frankens lead may be slipping down to single digits in the final days of this campaign.


The Hill is one of the popular newspapers read my members of Congress and their staffers. Ballot Box has an impact for the Colorado Senate race because it is associated with a large and influential news site, particularly one that is read widely by members and their staffers. If the Colorado Senate race, or either candidate specifically, gets mentioned in the blog it will be seen by those publics that influence the dialogue about the race with other politicians. Ballot Box is a blog focused completely on campaigns year-round so it gives the race a better chance of being highlighted with specific stories throughout the year rather than only during campaign season. Our client will be impacted by this blog because it has a large reach and following within Hill staffers and other congressional members.

Name of Blog

The Spot (The Denver Post)

Author Lynn Bartels and other Denver Post writers

Source Credibility

According to their media kit, The Denver Post has more than 55 million monthly online views, more than 900,000 Twitter followers and 900,000 Sunday post readers. The Denver Post is Colorados media leader with the largest print, online, mobile and social media audience in all of Denver and Colorado. The Denver Post ranks #12 daily for total paid circulation nationally according to 2013 R2 Denver Scarborough Report, Denver DMA geography.

The Spot is a blog dedicated to politics and policy in Colorado, and is one of few blogs to do that. Lynn Bartels, one of The Spots main bloggers, was named one of Colorados best political reporters and

tweeters by The Washington Posts The Fix blog.

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Colorado Senate race: three debates this week between Mark Udall, Cory Gardner (October 5, 2014, 2:12 am) U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, a Democrat, and his Republican challenger, Congressman Cory Gardner, square off

three times this week, including the Denver Posts debate Tuesday. Rep. Cory Gardner, a Republican, and Sen. Mark Udall, a Democrat. (The Denver Post) U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner, a Republican, and Sen. Mark Udall, a Democrat. (The Denver Post)The two are engaged in one of the fiercest battles nationwide. Udall is fending off attacks about what he has accomplished for Colorado; Gardner faces criticism he is too right-wing for a state like Colorado

Guantanamo Bay prison still an issue in Colorado politics (October 6, 2014, 2:01 pm) U.S. Sen. Mark Udalls comment Sunday that the United States should close Guantanamo Bay but keep the

terrorists here in jail indefinitely brings back memories of a 2009 battle in Colorado, led by then state Rep. Cory Gardner, now Udalls campaign opponent

NextGen mostly truthful, but misleading in Keep Out ad attacking Gardner (October 6, 2014, 10:23 am) The NextGen Climate Action Committee has released a series of campaign ads, titled Keep Out, attacking

Colorado Senate candidate Cory Gardners position on a number of key issues. Colorado Democrats have been relentless in challenging Gardners record on social issues. NextGen, a group headed by climate activist Tom Steyer, adds climate change to the list of Gardners policies that are being scrutinized heading into the November election. In this ad, NextGen depicts Gardner as an intruder who has his sights set on the private lives of voters. The ad shows people locking up their homes and shutting the blinds to protect themselves from Cory Gardners intrusive policies on abortion, contraception, marriage equality and climate change

DSCC Crime ad attacking Gardner true but misleading (October 3, 2014, 4:28 pm) A recent strike is a commercial from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee suggesting that

Congressman Cory Gardner tried to pass a law that would sentence abortion providers to more jail time than rapists serve. Gardner has been the target of a number of ads using the war-on-women theme that has proved so effective in Colorado and across the nation in recent years.

Rasmussen Poll: Hickenlooper, Gardner take leads in tight races (October 2, 2014, 1:53 pm) The same poll showed Republican U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner with a 1 point lead over incumbent Democrat

Mark Udall in the U.S. Senate race. Gardner has 48 percent to Udalls 47 in a poll with the same margin of error. Pollsters called the race a dead heat.

Sen. Mark Udall: He looks like Colorado (October 10, 2014, 11:11 pm) Not sure what a Connecticut guy looks like, but Udalls Republican challenger in his tough U.S. Senate race,

Congressman Cory Gardner, is actually a fifth-generation Coloradan. If Gardner werent in Washington, he might be home in Yuma wearing a Case tractor hat and looking exactly like a Colorado guy. Udall was born

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in Tucson, but has deep roots in Colorado on his mothers side of the family. Big night in Colorado politics as U.S Senate, governor candidates square off (October 10, 2014, 7:11 am)

Thursday was a big night in Colorado politics with a U.S. Senate debate in Pueblo and a governors debate in Fort Collins just days before ballots are mailed to voters. It was the third time this week the Senate candidates met; their Denver Post debate was Tuesday. A look at Thursdays debate

Fox News poll gives GOP edge in Senate race (October 9, 2014, 4:30 pm) Republican U.S. Senate candidate Cory Gardner holds a 43 percent to 37 percent lead against Democratic

incumbent Mark Udall, according to a Fox News poll of likely voters. And the Republican candidate for governor Bob Beauprez is tied at 42 percent with Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Cory Gardner outraises Mark Udall in third quarter (October 9, 2014, 10:26 am) That loud yell you heard from the Denver Tech Center this morning was Republican Congressman Cory

Gardners campaign learning they had outraised Democratic Sen. Mark Udalls campaign in third-quarter fundraising. Gardner raised $4.3 million from July 1 through Sept. 30, while Udall raised $4 million. The two are locked in one of the most closely watched races in the nation and square off tonight in Pueblo for their third senatorial debate of the week. The Denver Post debate was Tuesday.

Denver Post Senate Debate: Every answer from Mark Udall, Cory Gardner (October 8, 2014, 1:49 am) The Denver Post debate between U.S. Senate candidate Mark Udall, the Democratic incumbent, and Rep.

Cory Gardner, his Republican challenger, took place on Oct. 7, 2014, in the Denver Post Auditorium. Below are clips of each candidates responses to each question. All video by Eric Lutzens, Hyoung Chang, Lindsay Pierce and Mahala Gaylord of The Denver Post. To improve load time, weve put three videos on each of eight pages

Sen. Mark Udall says TABOR should be left alone (October 7, 2014, 10:45 pm) Sen. Mark Udall doesnt believe the Taxpayers Bill of Rights or TABOR should be changed a position

that puts him at odds with plenty of other Democrats and even some Republicans. Udall made his position known Tuesday night in The Denver Post Senate debate where he and Republican Congressman Cory Gardner squared off.

The Posts Colorado Senate debate: 4 things to watch for (October 7, 2014, 9:26 am) Democrat Mark Udall and Republican Cory Gardner square off Tuesday night in a Senate debate sponsored

by The Denver Post. It will be the third time the senator and his challenger will debate. Here are four things to watch for: [Evasion, Humor, Fireworks, Familiarity].

Republican Cory Gardner set to buy more TV ad time (October 7, 2014, 9:00 am) Republican Congressman Cory Gardner hauled in $4.3 million in just three months in his quest to unseat

Democratic Sen. Mark Udall, but heres the bad news for TV watchers: Hes going to spend $750,000 of his

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$3.3 million cash on hand to buy more air time for ads. Colorado is the most saturated market in the nation when it comes to political ads because of hotly contested races for the Senate, governor and 6th Congressional District. If the fracking ballot measures hadnt been pulled in a compromise, wed all be unplugging our TVs.

Sen. Mark Udalls campaign releases Gardner Tough Question Playbook (October 7, 2014, 7:59 am) But several hours after Team Udall on Monday issued its news release about the playbook, Republicans took

Udall to task for failing to answers Gardners questions about a carbon tax Udall supports. Team Udall pointed to Gardners interview with 9News Gary Shapiro about last years government shutdown during the first 16 days in October. Gardner said there was no vote on shutting down the government, which is technically correct. The vote was whether to fund government.

RNC uses Sen. Mark Udalls own words to go after him (October 6, 2014, 10:01 pm) The Republican National Committee released a web video that uses Sen. Mark Udalls own words to go

after the Colorado Democrat and tie him to President Obama. The ad is part of the RNCs Road to Six series highlighting the six seats needed to take back the Senate in 2014.


The blog has a large impact on the client because it is a political blog centralized in Colorado. Denver is one of the most influential states and The Denver Post, the blogs host, is the most widely read newspaper in the state. The blog also uses tags to categorize popular items including both candidates names and the 2014 senate race in Colorado. The use of tags makes it easier for readers to quickly find the information they are looking for about the Senate race in particular rather than having to read through all of the blog posts. This blog is important for our client to follow because it is the campaign blog most likely to be read by voters and it includes the most stories directly about the Colorado Senate race. This blog will have a large impact on our client because it is exclusively focused on Colorado politics.

Name of Blog

Rothenblog (Roll Call)

Author Stuart Rothenberg & Nathan Gonzales

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Source Credibility

According to his biography, Stuart Rosenberg is a Roll Call veteran, he has been working as a columnist for Roll Call for more than 20 years and has been publishing his well-known Rothenberg Report for even longer than that. He is also non-partisan and writes a weekly Roll Call column in addition to the blog and Rothenberg report.

Stuart Rothenbergs Twitter account has more than 14.7K Twitter followers Nathan Gonzales is the founder of his own political website, PoliticsinStereo.com, and has been a Roll Call

contributing writer for more than six years. Stuart Rothenberg is the editor and creator of the Rothenberg Political Report, which is a non-partisan

newsletter focused on congressional, presidential and gubernatorial campaigns and political developments. Stuart Rothenberg has a Klout score of 62.


Family Ties May Not Be Enough to Save Vulnerable Senators (September 30, 2014, 5:00am) Hagans edge cant simply be chalked up to the purple hue of her state. Democratic Sen. Mark Udall is

extremely vulnerable and he comes from a political family, albeit outside of Colorado, and a state President Barack Obama won twice. Udalls opponent, GOP Rep. Cory Gardner, is even trying to use the incumbents family legacy against him in a clever new ad that is disarming for its soft tone. The congressman runs through all the politicians that Udall is related to in an attempt to make his own case for change

Fight for Senate Control Down to Five States (September 23, 2014, 5:00am) Colorado remains extremely competitive, and Democrats must be concerned their attacks on Gardner on

cultural issues did not destroy his campaign. But Gardners positive personality and more moderate message, combined with a Udall fumble here and there, has clearly made this a key contest. You dont have to believe the recent Quinnipiac University Poll that showed the Republican nominee with a double-digit lead in the states gubernatorial race and Gardner ahead by 8 points (I certainly dont) to believe Udall is in great danger.

What If Im Wrong About GOP Flipping at Least 7 Seats? (October 6, 2014, 12:45pm) First, Democrats still may be able to localize elections in a few states the most likely prospects are North

Carolina and Alaska, which were carried by Romney, and two swing states won by Obama, Iowa and Colorado. Doing so would inoculate the Democratic nominees (three incumbents and one open seat hopeful) from Obamas near-toxic political standing. Democrats certainly have lowered the boom on North Carolinas Thom Tillis, Alaskas Dan Sullivan, Iowas Joni Ernst and Colorados Cory Gardner, and it isnt unreasonable to believe they can hold all four seats by discrediting the GOP nominees.

No new relevant blog posts since Blog Report #2 (October 7, 2014).

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Rothenblog could potentially have a large impact on the client because of its ties to the Rothenberg Political Report. Stuart Rothenberg is the editor of both the blog and political report, meaning the information appearing on both will probably be connected. The Rothenberg Political Report is a well-known, non-partisan source for all information regarding election and voter tendencies and the way certain districts are leaning. The Colorado Senate race information is updated on the political report in addition to the blog posts. Stuart Rothenberg is a reputable source in the field and, as a non-partisan his opinions and comments on the race and election may be more valuable and less biased. This blog impacts our client because Stuart Rothenberg is a key voice on campaigns and provides a non-partisan perspective about the races; his opinions are weighted highly because he does not align with a specific party. His posts on the blog relate to his posts on Rothenberg Political Report, which has the potential to influence our voters so the client should care about his opinions.

Name of Blog

At the Races (Roll Call)

Author Shira T. Center (and the Roll Call politics team)

Source Credibility

According to her biography, Shira T. Center is the politics editor for Roll Call and one of the Beltways best campaign analysts and reporters. She was the first national reporter to interview Senator Franken after his win and the last to interview Sarah Palin before she was selected as the vice presidential nominee. She is an experienced authority on congressional races and has worked in Washington as a politics reporter since 2005. She worked for the National Journal and Politico and commented on politics and campaigns for MSNBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, CNBC and FOX. She is also currently a Harvard Institute of Politics fellow.

Shira T. Center has a Klout score of 64. At the Races is a Roll Call blog focused on races, such as the upcoming congressional elections.


Pat Roberts Ranks Among Most Vulnerable Senators (October 1, 2014, 5:00am) Republican Rep. Cory Gardner seems to be gathering steam in his effort to oust Udall. President Barack

Obamas approval rating is completely underwater in the state, hovering around 40 percent in recent polls. And Udall stuck his foot in his mouth recently, when he declared that the two American journalists beheaded by the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, would have wanted the U.S. to be cautious in its response to the group. But Colorado is a purple state where Obama won last cycle: If Republicans want to win the seat, they cannot afford to leave a single vote on the table.

Democrats Continue Personhood Attacks on Cory Gardner (October 2, 2014, 12:16pm) The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee aired a new ad Thursday as part of a larger barrage on

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Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., focused on womens health issues. The ad, provided first to CQ Roll Call, attacks Gardner for being a co-sponsor of a personhood bill in Congress. Gardner said earlier this year that he had rethought his position on the subject and could no longer support a personhood amendment, which would make abortion illegal.

No new relevant posts since Blog Report #2 (October 7, 2014). How the blog impacts the client

At The Races is a blog hosted by one of the Hills top publications, Roll Call, and is run by Shira T. Center who is one of the leading reporters on campaigns. The blog has a large influence in the campaign discussion particularly on the Hill in Washington. The blog posts on the website that mention the Colorado race are usually tied to larger issues and receive press outside the Colorado public. The blog includes posts about many congressional races and the similarities or challenges many are facing; this allows the Colorado race to be tied to other high profile stories. While this blog does not include many stories about the Colorado Senate race alone, it includes stories about multiple Senate races that include discussion of Colorado. It is a good opportunity for the Colorado Senate race to become more high profile and known by a larger public outside of the state of Colorado. This blog will impact our client because it includes high profile stories about Senate races including the Colorado race. It also includes polling data that our client should pay attention to especially when it is going to a national audience that includes Hill staffers.

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Documents

Critique of Mark Udall's New Media Usage