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Campaign 2010 Races to Watch: House Edition October 19, 2010 

As Election Day nears, candidates for elected office across the country are usingFacebook to communicate and engage authentically with voters as well as organize

supporters in ways unimaginable a decade ago. As you plan your daily political coverage,

we hope you'll consider including our campaign watchers' snapshots of House, Senate,

and Gubernatorial contenders that are making the most of Facebook.

Over the next two weeks, we'll be serving up races to watch and Facebook data for the

House (Tuesdays), Senate (Wednesdays) and Governorships (Thursdays).

Race of the Day

Do Facebook Fans Foreshadow Wins for Grayson and West in Florida?

If two House races in Florida are any indication, the use of Facebook as a key tool for

soliciting voter support is not limited to incumbents or challengers or Republicans or

Democrats. Two of the closest House Races in the state - Rep. Alan Grayson (D-8th

District) vs. Daniel Webster (R) and Rep. Ron Klein (D-22nd District) vs. Allen West (R) -

tell two different social media tales.

In one of the most contentious campaigns in the country, incumbent Democratic

Congressman Grayson is trailing Republican challenger Daniel Webster by 7 percentage

points, according to a recent Susquehanna/Sunshine State News poll. Yet, the numbers

on Facebook show that Grayson has made social media a major aspect of his outreach

campaign as he has amassed more than 30,000 fans compared to just 4,517 for

Webster.

It has been quite apparent that Grayson is using Facebook to take on his opponent

directly as more than half of the posts over the past two weeks highlighted the policies

of his opponent, including a post that discusses how a 1991 bill introduced by Webster

would have banned Happy Hours and drinking games in Florida.

While Grayson is a prolific Facebook poster with more than three posts per day for the

past two weeks, Webster's campaign has been more reserved with only about one postper day with the focus on endorsements, campaign commercials and media

appearances. Interestingly, Webster's posts make little or no reference to Grayson and

Webster provides a detailed overview of his point of view on several top issues including

Spending and Debt, Jobs & Economy, Taxes and Health Care.

But, don't make the conclusion from the Grayson-Webster race that Facebook is only

the purview of incumbent Democrats. In the 22nd District in Boca Raton, Fla.,

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Republican Challenger West is using Facebook to promote a campaign that is a

statistical deadheat - according to several recent polls -- with Democratic incumbent

Ron Klein.

In a district where 26 percent of the voters have no party affiliation, West has more than

37,000 fans compared to just 1,737 fans for Klein, a lead by a factor of 21. West hasused Facebook to promote public appearances, sign up volunteers and secure

contributions. The West campaign has penned at least three posts per day over the past

week while the Klein campaign has written only three posts in the past two weeks with

extremely limited reaction and conversation from his fans.

Do Facebook fans equal votes? The wide disparity of fans in both of these races may

help to answer that question on November 2.

Just the Data

Gaining Momentum (Largest increase of fans since last week)

1. Rep. Michele Bachman (Republican/Minnesota 6th District) -- +2,445

2. Allen West (Republican/Florida 22nd District) -- +483

3. Jon Runyan (Republican/New Jersey 3rd District) -- +260

4. Rep. Alan Grayson (Democrat/Florida 8th District) -- +259

5. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (Democrat/Arizona 8th District) -- +218

Top Landslides (Biggest fan gap between opponents)

1. Minnesota 6th District: Rep. Bachman (R) +102,229 more fans than Tarryl Clark (D)

2. Florida 22nd District: Allen West (R) +35,697 more fans than Rep. Ron Klein (D)

3. Florida 8th District: Rep. Alan Grayson (D) +25,665 more fans than Daniel Webster

4. South Carolina 2nd District: Rep. Joe Wilson (R) +17,324 more fans than Rob Miller (D)

5. Virginia 2nd District: Scott Rigell (R) +7.737 more fans than Rep. Glenn Nye (D)

Top Posters (Most campaign wall posts in the past week)

1. Ilario Pantano (Republican/North Carolina 7th District) -- 64

2. Martha Roby (Republican/Alabama 2nd District) -- 52

3. Nan Hayworth (Republican/New York 19th District) -- 44

4. Scott Tipton (Republican/Colorado 3rd District) -- 41

5. (tie) Rep. John Hall (Democrat/New York 19th District) -- 34

5. (tie) Rep. Charles Djou (Republican/Hawaii 1st District) -- 34

Don't forget to check out our U.S. Politics on Facebook page for the latest social media

insights from the campaign trail.

Sincerely,

The Facebook Political Team