Social Media's Impact on Congressional Campaigns: Overstated or Underutilized?

Since the advent of the twenty-first century, the internet has revolutionized our society. One facet of the internet that changed our society is social media. The use of mainstream social media, primarily websites comparable to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube changed our culture forever. Since 2000, the internet significantly influenced politics and the true potential of social media in politics developed through the 2008 Presidential campaign of Barack Obama, which redefined how candidates would operate their campaigns in the future. The impact of social media on the national and financial front of Presidential politics became noticeable in this Presidential campaign but this effect has yet to be analyzed on smaller political races. I am attempting to evaluate the significant impact of social media among congressional races for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. Through questioning the personnel closest to a select set of campaigns from the 2010 mid-term elections, I will discover if social media’s impact on congressional campaigns is overstated or underutilized