Idaho Republicans disregard social media at their own peril

I would like to reiterate my party agnostic stance (I know they exists I just don’t believe in either of them). I only share this as a great social media example in action.

I made a prediction a year and a half ago that Idaho Republicans would loose a record number of races to the Democrats now that John Foster was heading up the Idaho Democratic party.

Well one major thing has changed, John is not heading the Idaho Democratic party anymore he has taken a seat on Walt Minnick’s campaign against incumbent Bill Sali. You’ll notice that YouTube, flickr and Facebook are prominantly displayed on both sites but Walt chooses to display LinkedIn while Sali opts for MySpace. And yes Walt has a blog.

The Idaho Statesman’s Kevin Richert gives a great breakdown of how Foster is wisely using the blogosphere to Walt’s advantage.

What is interesting is the way the campaign’s soft release of the ads, which begin airing today (Tuesday 7/29). John Foster, spokesman for the Democratic candidate, e-mailed links to the ads Monday (7/28) to more than a dozen media bloggers and Democratic activist bloggers.

It’s one small example of the way Democratic candidates are openly courting coverage from Idaho bloggers.

While Democratic campaigns are viewing the blogosphere as a way to get the word out, some Republicans view the blogosphere with open disdain.

But Republicans dismiss this medium at their peril.

When I made my prediction many of my local Republican/Libertarian new media colleagues scoffed at my prediction:

As far as Republicans not being willing to step into New Media in the state – I think you will be mistaken on that as well. They aren’t so arrogant that they will sit on their rear-ends.

I wonder if they still feel that way? I know for a fact that many of my friends have volunteered to help the GOP out and gotten no where.

Barack Obama has become the poster child for politics and social media, but for those of us in Idaho, here is a great example. Do you see this across the country? Are there social media savvy Republicans out there? Will social media prove to be the political turning point?

I still stand by John Foster’s ability to win elections with the help of social media. It’s just now Walt Minnick will get that benefit, not the rest of the democratic party.