Social media changed US presidential campaign: US Consulate official

 Chennai: The advent of social media has changed the landscape of the US Presidential elections dramatically with candidates using the medium to the hilt that has brought tremendous financial support to their campaign, a top official of the US Consulate here said on Wednesday.

Delivering a talk on the process of US Presidential elections at the Press Institute of India here, Eric T. Lund, Cultural Affairs Officer, US Consulate General in Chennai, said the social media has really changed the game on two aspects — public opinion and financial side of the campaign.

Recalling that it was the incumbent President Barack Obama who used the social media tremendously to take his high-stakes election campaign to the grassroots when he contested the US presidential elections for the first time in 2008, Mr Lund suggested since then the traditional media has not been the main anchor of the polls that are keenly watched in every part of the globe.

“It was the 2008 election between President Obama and John McCain that really activated the youth into the campaign. The money that was generated at the grassroots level was amazing and that changed everything. Traditional media is not what it was once (when it comes to the Presidential Elections). Candidates have started using the social platforms very effectively,” he said.

Responding to several questions about the US Presidential Elections and how the media there covers the high-stakes elections, the Cultural Affairs Officer said the social media has changed the game completely and also spoke about the “Swing states” like Virginia from where he hails, which most of the times decided the outcome of the elections. “Swing states have a key role in deciding the elections in the United States. As a voter belonging to a swing state, I am also listening and watching the campaigns and I will consider them before I vote,” he added.

Unlike in other countries, the Electoral College elects the US President.
If a candidate scores more votes than his rival in a state, for example which has five votes in the Electoral College, all the five votes go to the particular candidate.

The US goes to Presidential Elections on November 8 with Hillary Clinton and Republican Party’s Donald Trump locking horns in one of the fiercely contested polls in recent years.