5 posts and columns on primary

A Web Pioneer Profiles Users by Name

in News on October 25, 2010 at 12:00 am PT

In the weeks before the New Hampshire primary last month, Linda Twombly of Nashua says she was peppered with online ads for Republican Senate hopeful Jim Bender. It was no accident. An online tracking company called RapLeaf Inc. had correctly identified her as a conservative who is interested in Republican politics, has an interest in the Bible and contributes to political and environmental causes.

What eBay-Rich Meg Whitman Really Wants to Do Is Direct!

in News on July 12, 2010 at 2:53 pm PT

It’s worth checking out an article in the New York Times today that points to a very questionable, but–as it turned out–politically savvy angel investment made by former eBay CEO and now Republican candidate for California governor Meg Whitman. The piece alleges that Whitman’s $1 million investment in late 2008 in a Hollywood entertainment company called Tools Down! Productions was done to ease a prominent Republican strategist away from working for her rival for the GOP nod. This kind of thing has happened before, of course. But what’s interesting is to see Silicon Valley’s digitally enabled moneybags step up to the very stained political table and jump right into the game.

Can Two Tech Exec Candidates in California Compute With Voters?

in News on June 21, 2010 at 12:00 pm PT

While there have been politicians running for office in California before who have worked in the tech sector, there’s no doubt that the prospects for two of Silicon Valley’s more prominent execs–Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina–represent an unusual and interesting situation in the state’s history. With the tech sector a beacon of hope in a very rough economy and a symbol of health compared with a debt-saddled government, it’s no surprise both candidates are touting their time as CEOs of two of California’s better known digital giants–Whitman at eBay and Fiorina at Hewlett-Packard. But will it work, or does it leave both open to a lot more scrutiny than they think?

Fiorina’s First Act as Senator: Merge California and Nevada

in News on November 4, 2009 at 7:46 am PT

Her dreams of heading up the World Bank dashed, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, the architect of one of the worst tech mergers in history, has turned her attention to California politics. After months of speculation, she officially announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate today.
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