Texas politics enters cypberspace

By MICHAEL BRICK
Harte-Hanks Austin Bureau

AUSTIN - Texas voters are learning more about political candidates than ever before as the state enters its first major campaign season in the shadow of the Internet, political consultants say.
And the candidates are paying attention.

The Internet, a vast, worldwide system connecting computers through telephone lines, is the big gamble for campaigners this season as it becomes more and more a part of everyday life.
All the major presidential candidates are keeping home pages to communicate with voters, and most top state officials are coming on-line, industry observers say.

While politics junkies are divided on how voters will react, most agree the Internet has experienced a massive growth in popularity since the last presidential race. The system is opening doors to easy information - and lots of it.

And Internet experts say this campaign season will be crucial in determining how voters and candidates put the technology to use - for better or for worse.

"This is really the first round for it where all the candidates have home pages," said Scott Sims, an Austin Internet consultant who teches Republican candidates to use the system. "It's going to be a first look at it. There could be some surprises."

Anne Marie Kilday, spokeswoman for the Texas Democratic Party, said the Internet could have its strongest impact on young Texans, who are most likely to use the system.

Only 37 percent of Texans 18-29 years old voted in the last election, according to a recent Harte-Hanks Texas Poll.

But their interest in the Internet could spark an interest in politics, Kilday said.

"It could be a way of attracting younger voters," Kilday said. "It makes sense that people who are on-line tend to vote more (because) they're into information. It could have a very positive impact in terms of bringing voters back to the ballot box."

Texas is one of a handful of states that will forge patterns for Internet use in campaigns this season because of the state's leadership in computers, Sims said.
And state and national candidates could be in for a shock from the country's third most populous state.

"In a few years, you could see quite a few people who will stun the establishment with a large percentage of voters who are not necessarily on the front lines, but are out there," Sims said.
But some Internet and political observers say the system is far too vast and complicated to create a measurable wave in voting patterns.

"The kind of information people search for on the Internet is enormously varied," said John Downing, a professor of radio-television-film at the University of Texas at Austin. "It may as well have to do with basketball scores or competitive airline prices as any kind of political information."
Even industry experts have no real way of knowing how many candidates have established home pages because the system's popularity is so new, said Sims, who is creating a page to list candidates' Internet addresses.

But that element of mystery could help potential voters feel more in control.
"There's something about that sense of your fingers on the keyboard versus sitting in the living room watching television and being told something you don't know," Kilday said. "You're doing it with your own hands, and there's a real sense of giving voters power in that."

David Weeks, the media consultant who created advertisements for U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Agriculture Commissioner Rick Perry, said the system allows people who aren't involved in politics to develop an interest.
But Weeks said many candidates are ignoring the system.

"A lot of candidates aren't spending a lot of time with (Internet pages) because they don't understand them," Weeks said. "They think it's expensive or think it's time-consuming."
For candidates, learning about the system and its growing popularity could be crucial for communicating with voters this season, Sims said.
Electronic mail on the Internet provides "instantaneous feedback," Sims said. "It's almost like Nielsen families."

"Candidates can be contacted by people they don't know are supporters, then they can come back and hit those people for yard signs or volunteer work or contributions," he added.
Many political observers say the Internet will not provide sweeping empowerment to new groups, because access to computers is still mostly limited to the somewhat affluent and educated.
But most agree the system's growth is unpredictable, and this campaign season will define new patterns for voters and candidates.

"There's just no way to know a lot of this stuff," Sims said. "It's just too new. It's like asking, 'Are pet rocks going to sell?' "

As candidates become more savvy and the Internet starts to sell, some observers say the information available is becoming more biased.
Jesse Drew, an assistant instructor in radio-television-film at the University of Texas, said information on candidates is less trustworthy the more campaigners and spin doctors use the system.

"When (the Internet) started out, there was a lot of just straight information from institutions and schools," Drew said. "As it becomes privatized, there's a lot more commercials out there."