[Note: This post has been updated; for details, see the end of this post. Thanks to the campaign bloggers who wrote in with updates and corrections.]
Last week Danny Glover, my former colleague at the National Journal Group, went through the FEC reports of candidates for federal office to report just how much their campaigns were paying the bloggers and new media coordinators in their employ.
It was a fascinating and useful article, though it could have used a sidebar or two breaking out the details. Who is the best-paid campaign blogger? Which campaign spent the most? What would these bloggers make if prorated to a yearly salary?
So with the help of Olly Ruff, my capable and mathematically-inclined co-blogger, we’ve done just that. And then some. Before we get started, some disclaimers are in order:
By “prorated salary,” we mean that monthly (approximate) salaries have been prorated to annual salaries; these figures are not meant to indicate the blogger actually made or will make this amount. Jon Henke of QandO, for example, has only been with the Allen campaign for a few months. Likewise, “lump sumps” refer to larger payments made at irregular times. They could be one-off or recurring. These figures are not meant to indicate an annual rate. Unless otherwise noted, numbers are from 2006.
It is also worth remembering that some of these advisers are bloggers, some are more senior advisers, and some are both. Additionally, some advisers may keep other jobs — Daou still does The Daou Report for Salon, but no longer writes commentary there; David All is merely on loan from a similar position with Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA).
Like a poll, this is a snapshot and only a snapshot. We didn’t have the time or resources to go back and look at how long each blogger had actually worked for a given candidate, so the prorated numbers should be taken with a dash of Morton’s. All numbers come from Glover’s piece, and if we haven’t made it clear already, some are approximate.
All right, that should do. Here’s how we’ve broken it down:
- Candidates
a. By prorated salary paid (Democrats)
b. By prorated salary paid (Republicans)
c. By prorated salary paid (combined)
d. By lump sum (Democrats)
e. By lump sum (Republicans)
f. By lump sum (combined)
Bloggers/Advisers
g. By prorated salary (Democrats)
h. By prorated salary (Republicans)
i. By prorated salary (combined)
j. By lump sum (Democrats)
k. By lump sum (Republicans)
l. By lump sum (combined)
- a. By candidate, prorated salary paid (Democrats)
| Candidate | Campaign | Blogger/Adviser | Payment/Expenditure |
| Sen. Hillary Clinton | NY SEN incumbent | Jesse Berney; Peter Daou1 | $15,600; $60,000 (by way of FOH/HILLPAC) |
| Sen. Debbie Stabenow | MI SEN incumbent | Laura Packard, Aaron Hofman |
$44,400; $26,400 |
| Rep. Jan Schakowsky | IL 09 incumbent | Alex Armour | $38,400 |
| Treas. Bob Casey | PA SEN Rick Santorum | Jon Jones | $33,600 |
| State Sen. Jon Tester | MT SEN Conrad Burns | Andrew Tweeten | $31,200 |
| Sen. Robert Menendez | NJ SEN incumbent | Scott Shields | $34,860 (up from starting $30,744) |
| Rep. Ted Strickland | OH GOV open | Jesse Taylor | $24,600 |
| Atty Larry Grant | ID 01 open | Julie Fanselow | $15,600 |
| Atty Bill Winter | CO 06 Tom Tancredo | Aaron Silverstein | $10,200 |
- b. By candidate, prorated salary paid (Republicans)
| Candidate | Campaign | Blogger/Adviser | Payment/Expenditure |
| Sen. Rick Santorum | PA SEN incumbent | Mindy Finn; Luke Bernstein | $52,800; $51,600 |
| Rep. Mark Kennedy | MN SEN open | Michael Brodkorb | $55,200 |
| Sen. George Allen | VA SEN incumbent | Jon Henke2 | $27,600 |
| Sen. Bill Frist | WH’08 (prospective) | Stephen Smith | $22,400 (by way of VOLPAC) |
- c. By candidate, prorated salary paid (combined)
| Candidate | Campaign | Blogger/Adviser | Payment/Expenditure |
| Sen. Rick Santorum | PA SEN incumbent | Mindy Finn; Luke Bernstein | $52,800; $51,600 |
| Sen. Hillary Clinton | NY SEN incumbent | Jesse Berney; Peter Daou | $15,600; $60,000 (by way of FOH/HILLPAC) |
| Sen. Debbie Stabenow | MI SEN incumbent | Laura Packard, Aaron Hofman |
$44,400; $26,400 |
| Rep. Mark Kennedy | MN SEN open | Michael Brodkorb | $55,200 |
| Rep. Jan Schakowsky | IL 09 incumbent | Alex Armour | $38,400 |
| Sen. Robert Menendez | NJ SEN incumbent | Scott Shields | $34,860 (up from starting $30,744) |
| Treas. Bob Casey | PA SEN Rick Santorum | Jon Jones | $33,600 |
| State Sen. Jon Tester | MT SEN Conrad Burns | Andrew Tweeten | $31,200 |
| Sen. George Allen | VA SEN incumbent | Jon Henke | $27,600 |
| Rep. Ted Strickland | OH GOV open | Jesse Taylor | $24,600 |
| Sen. Bill Frist | WH’08 prospective | Stephen Smith | $22,400 (by way of VOLPAC) |
| Atty Larry Grant | ID 01 open | Julie Fanselow | $15,600 |
| Atty Bill Winter | CO 06 Tom Tancredo | Aaron Silverstein | $10,200 |
d. By candidate, lump sum (Democrats)
| Candidate | Campaign | Blogger/Adviser | Payment/Expenditure |
| Rep. Sherrod Brown | OH SEN Mike DeWine | Jerome Armstrong; Tim Tagaris |
$100,000 (2005-2006); $17,000 (2005) |
| Ex-Navy Sec. James Webb | VA SEN George Allen | Abraham (Josh) Chernila; Lowell Feld |
$7,700; $3,600 |
| Sen. Jon Corzine | NJ GOV ‘05 won | Jerome Armstrong; Matt Stoller |
$39,000; $31,000 |
| Ex-Gov. Mark Warner | WH’08 withdrawn | Jerome Armstrong | $65,000 |
| Sen. Joe Lieberman | CT SEN incumbent | Dan Gerstein | $21,000 (Sept 2006) |
| Cable exec Ned Lamont | CT SEN Joe Lieberman | Tim Tagaris | $21,000 (Jul-Sept 2006) |
- e. By candidate, lump sum (Republicans)
| Candidate | Campaign | Blogger/Adviser | Payment/Expenditure |
| Sen. John McCain | WH’08 prospective | Patrick Hynes | $31,500 |
| Sheriff Mike Bouchard | MI SEN Debbie Stabenow |
David All | $6,468 (Sept 2006) |
- f. By candidate, lump sum (combined)
| Candidate | Campaign | Blogger/Adviser | Payment/Expenditure |
| Rep. Sherrod Brown | OH SEN Mike DeWine | Jerome Armstrong; Tim Tagaris |
$100,000 (2005-2006); $17,000 (2005) |
| Ex-Navy Sec. James Webb | VA SEN George Allen | Abraham (Josh) Chernila; Lowell Feld |
$77,00; $3,600 |
| Sen. Jon Corzine | NJ GOV ‘05 won | Jerome Armstrong; Matt Stoller |
$39,000; $31,000 |
| Ex-Gov. Mark Warner | WH’08 withdrawn | Jerome Armstrong | $65,000 |
| Sen. John McCain | WH’08 prospective | Patrick Hynes | $31,500 |
| Sen. Joe Lieberman | CT SEN incumbent | Dan Gerstein | $21,000 (Sept 2006) |
| Cable exec Ned Lamont | CT SEN Joe Lieberman | Tim Tagaris | $21,000 (Jul-Sept 2006) |
| Sheriff Mike Bouchard | MI SEN Debbie Stabenow |
David All | $6,468 (Sept 2006) |
- g. By blogger/adviser, prorated salary (Democrats)
| Blogger/Adviser | Payment/Expenditure | Candidate | Campaign |
| Peter Daou | $60,000 (by way of FOH/HILLPAC) |
Sen. Hillary Clinton | NY SEN incumbent |
| Laura Packard | $44,400 | Sen. Debbie Stabenow | MI SEN incumbent |
| Alex Armour | $38,400 | Rep. Jan Schakowsky | IL 09 incumbent |
| Scott Shields | $34,860 (up from starting $30,744) |
Sen. Robert Menendez | incumbent |
| Jon Jones | $33,600 | Treas. Bob Casey | PA SEN Rick Santorum |
| Andrew Tweeten | $31,200 | State Sen. Jon Tester | MT SEN Conrad Burns |
| Aaron Hofman | $26,400 | Sen. Debbie Stabenow | MI SEN incumbent |
| Jesse Taylor | $24,600 | Rep. Ted Strickland | OH GOV open |
| Jesse Berney | $15,600 (by way of HILLPAC) | Sen. Hillary Clinton | NY SEN incumbent |
| Julie Fanselow | $15,600 | Atty Larry Grant | ID 01 open |
| Aaron Silverstein | $10,200 | Atty Bill Winter | CO 06 Tom Tancredo |
- h. By blogger/adviser, prorated salary (Republicans)
| Blogger/Adviser | Payment/Expenditure | Candidate | Campaign |
| Michael Brodkorb | $55,200 | Rep. Mark Kennedy | MN SEN open |
| Mindy Finn | $52,800 | Sen. Rick Santorum | PA SEN incumbent |
| Luke Bernstein | $51,600 | Sen. Rick Santorum | PA SEN incumbent |
| Jon Henke | $27,600 | Sen. George Allen | VA SEN incumbent |
| Stephen Smith | $22,400 (by way of VOLPAC) | Sen. Bill Frist | WH’08 prospective |
- i. By blogger/adviser, prorated salary (combined)
| Blogger/Adviser | Payment/Expenditure | Candidate | Campaign |
| Peter Daou | $60,000 (by way of FOH/HILLPAC) |
Sen. Hillary Clinton | NY SEN incumbent |
| Michael Brodkorb | $55,200 | Rep. Mark Kennedy | MN SEN open |
| Mindy Finn | $52,800 | Sen. Rick Santorum | PA SEN incumbent |
| Luke Bernstein | $51,600 | Sen. Rick Santorum | PA SEN incumbent |
| Laura Packard | $44,400 | Sen. Debbie Stabenow | MI SEN incumbent |
| Alex Armour | $38,400 | Rep. Jan Schakowsky | IL 09 incumbent |
| Jon Jones | $33,600 | Treas. Bob Casey | PA SEN Rick Santorum |
| Andrew Tweeten | $31,200 | State Sen. Jon Tester | MT SEN Conrad Burns |
| Aaron Hofman | $26,400 | Sen. Debbie Stabenow | MI SEN incumbent |
| Scott Shields | $34,860 (up from starting $30,744) |
Sen. Robert Menendez | NJ SEN incumbent |
| Jon Henke | $27,600 | Sen. George Allen | VA SEN incumbent |
| Jesse Taylor | $24,600 | Rep. Ted Strickland | OH GOV (open) |
| Stephen Smith | $22,400 (by way of VOLPAC) | Sen. Bill Frist | WH’08 prospective |
| Jesse Berney | $15,600 (by way of HILLPAC) | Sen. Hillary Clinton | NY SEN incumbent |
| Julie Fanselow | $15,600 | Atty Larry Grant | ID 01 open |
| Aaron Silverstein | $10,200 | Atty Bill Winter | CO 06 Tom Tancredo |
- j. By blogger/adviser, lump sum (Democrats)
| Blogger/Adviser | Payment/Expenditure | Candidate | Campaign |
| Jerome Armstrong | $204,000 | Jon Corzine; Sherrod Brown; Mark Warner |
NJ GOV ‘05 (won); OH SEN Mike DeWine; WH’08 (withdrawn) |
| Abraham (Josh) Chernila | $7,700 | James Webb | VA SEN George Allen |
| Tim Tagaris | $38,000 (2005-2006) | Sherrod Brown; Ned Lamont |
OH SEN Mike DeWine; CT SEN Joe Lieberman |
| Matt Stoller | $31,000 | Jon Corzine | NJ GOV ‘05 open |
| Dan Gerstein | $21,000 (Sept 2006) | Sen. Joe Lieberman | CT SEN incumbent |
| Lowell Feld | $3,600 | James Webb | VA SEN George Allen |
- k. By blogger/adviser, lump sum (Republicans)
| Blogger/Adviser | Payment/Expenditure | Candidate | Campaign |
| Patrick Hynes | $31,500 | Sen. John McCain | WH’08 prospective |
| David All | $6,468 (Sept 2006) | Mike Bouchard | MI SEN Debbie Stabenow |
- l. By blogger/adviser, lump sum (combined)
| Blogger/Adviser | Payment/Expenditure | Candidate | Campaign |
| Jerome Armstrong | $204,000 | Sen. Jon Corzine; Rep. Sherrod Brown; Ex-Gov. Mark Warner |
NJ GOV ‘05 won; OH SEN Mike DeWine; WH’08 withdrawn |
| Abraham (Josh) Chernila | $7,700 | Ex-Navy Sec. James Webb | VA SEN George Allen |
| Tim Tagaris | $38,000 (2005-2006) | Rep. Sherrod Brown; Cable exec Ned Lamont | OH SEN Mike DeWine; CT SEN Joe Lieberman |
| Patrick Hynes | $31,500 | Sen. John McCain | WH’08 prospective |
| Matt Stoller | $31,000 | Sen. Jon Corzine (won) | NJ GOV ‘05 open |
| Dan Gerstein | $21,000 (Sept 2006) | Sen. Joe Lieberman | CT SEN incumbent |
| David All | $6,468 (Sept 2006) | Sheriff Mike Bouchard | MI SEN Debbie Stabenow |
| Lowell Feld | $3,600 | Ex-Navy Sec. James Webb | VA SEN George Allen |
- So, which blogs are they running, anyway? Here’s the list of blogs sponsored by the aforementioned campaigns.
- AllenHQ
- Blog of Joe
- Bob Casey Blog
- Blogs from VOLPAC
- Born Fighting: The WebbLog
- Grassroots for Grant
- Mark Kennedy for U.S. Senate
- Menendez for Senate Blog
- Mike Bouchard Blog
- Official Ned Lamont for U.S. Senate Campaign Blog
- Running with Rick Blog2
- SchaBLOGsky
- Stabenow Blog
- Strickland Blog
- Tester Time!
- Winter for Congress
- Which candidates have hired new media consultants but do not have blogs? They are none other than McCain and Clinton, whose 2008 presidential campaigns have yet to get underway (assuming they both run, which in the latter case is no certainty). Among the campaigns concluded, the only one still active is Mark Warner’s Forward Together Blog; currently it’s giving updates on Warner’s travels campaigning for Jim Webb.
- Corzine Connection and Sherrod Brown’s Grow Ohio, however, are more than defunct — not only are they no longer online, they cannot be found at the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. nor in Google’s cache.
Additionally, Corzine was elected to New Jersey’s governorship a year ago, put away the blog with his campaign site then, and for what it’s worth, has battled back from low approval ratings without a presence in the blogosphere. Yet Brown shut down his site not long after announcing for Senate; he understandably shied away from the ’sphere, as it seemed to cause him nothing but headaches.
- Clearly, and none too surprisingly, Democratic candidates are hiring more bloggers and new media advisers than Republicans. (They are also more enthusiastic about paying in lump sums.) It seems to me that if your party is on the outs, you’re more likely to embrace new methods of reaching people than if you’re already in power and relatively complacent. The exception is if you’re an outsider in your own party (read: McCain), or behind in your own race. Santorum has been spending like there’s no tomorrow (about $11,000/month on bloggers alone) — and in his case, there probably isn’t.
The only question is why more Republicans didn’t start blogs this time. Well, Allen didn’t until he had no choice, and more than a few vulnerable Republicans this time didn’t find themselves in real trouble until late (Chris Shays), can’t really face up to the scrutiny (Don Sherwood) or both (Curt Weldon).
Wait for 2008.
- And it isn’t just Santorum who’s putting down a lot of money. Republicans may have hired fewer bloggers than have Democrats, but on the whole they’re paying them more. This may have something to do with fundraising, and especially the fact that all bloggers listed here are incumbents — even though Rep. Kennedy is running for the Senate, he of course has been in Washington for some time already. But if you’re going to be a Democrat heading off to work for a member of your party, it’s highly advisable that you write for MyDD first.
- There is sure to be a fallow period after the election; between Nov. 8 and sometime next year, chances are there will be very few candidates employing bloggers — because the only “candidates” will be those mulling a run at the White House.
But a year from now, the numbers will surely return to this level, and in 2008 it’s highly probable many more bloggers and new media this-or-thats will be working for various incumbents and challengers. Blogging may be well-entrenched in the mediasphere, but politicians have been slower in recognizing their utility.
- And because we are never entirely above cheap shots here at Blog P.I. there is one additional moral to be divined from these numbers: Astrology works.
What do you think? Any angles we’ve missed? Let us know in the comments.
P.S. I think we knew this would happen:
-
1. The most significant update concerns Peter Daou. As Danny Glover corrects at Beltway Blogroll today, Daou draws a $3,750 monthly check from Friends of Hillary in addition to $1,250 from HILLPAC. This moves Hillary Clinton into first place as among Democrats in spending (second overall only to Santorum), and Daou to number one among consultants in terms of compensation.
Another note: This is in addition to Daou’s consulting for other clients including Media Matters and the AARP, but since we’re just talking about electoral campaigns, we’ll leave them aside. As noted above, these numbers are not meant to be taken as the individual’s total salary.
2. I’ve added a note to Henke’s name (which Olly had put in but I took out) noting that this number here is almost certainly off. Of course, we might’ve added this to virtually all of the numbers, but Henke being the last-hired among the goup here, there was even less information to go on. Just FYI.
3. I also goofed and listed SantorumBlog as the official campaign blog. The actual official blog has now replaced it in the list above.
More to come as necessary.
Great stuff, Bill. Thanks. I’ll be posting at P&T. FYI – your link to Glover’s piece is busted.
Kari, thanks for catching that. Link fixed.
SantorumBlog is not run by the Santorum campaign. It’s a grassroots site.
We work for free!
Alex, not that I would want Santorum to win or anything, but as soon as I saw the money spent here, and the name, I thought “why the fuck didn’t they hire Alex”. Money completely blown.
Now I know why I don’t yet have a paying blog job. Seems that, other than VA, Southern politicians have not yet discovered blogging as a means of communcations. Other than John Edwards that is, but he doesn’t count, not this year at least. We iz still a lil slow down here.
Oh yeah, there’s that “loaner” from Jack Kingston, (R) GA. Maybe Southern pols don’t pay their bloggers? If that’s the case, you’d think we’d know better about not paying people for their labor around here. Guess not.
Interesting topic to research; however, I have to call your methodology seriously into question. You have listed me as a paid blogger/new media coordinator for the Santorum campaign and assumed my salary was for compensation in that area. You are right, but the FEC report doesn’t list additional responsibilities which I had and I imagine the other campaign staffers also had i.e. microtargeting, volunteer/voter management, web design and management, writer, mass email director, etc. Comparing someone who handles a broad aspect of the campaign to someone who purely blogs for the campaign is an apples to oranges comparison. Also, you cite one of my colleagues as a blog advisor who was the Director of Coalitions and was only minimally involved with the blog. I like your post, but I challenge you to dig deeper in your research.
Grassroots for Grant was taken offline at the candidate’s request shortly after Election Day. It is still available, but it’s password protected. Anyone with a legitimate reason to view it can contact me at juliewrites@yahoo.com for log-in info.