The Democratic National Committee announced a database marketing project yesterday it hopes will expand the party's direct donor base.
The news came at the Democratic National Committee's three-day meeting, which began yesterday in Washington.
The database is part of Project 5104, which refers to winning 51 percent of the vote in 2004. It contains the names of 158 million voters nationwide, along with demographic, economic and consumer data about them and assorted features designed to let the party carve up the electorate in infinite ways and for a variety of purposes, according to The Washington Post.
Democratic Party officials said they would use the information to find new contributors and deliver tailored campaign messages. With the new McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, Democrats face a financial challenge since they had relied so heavily on large, unregulated “soft money” contributions that are now prohibited. In 2000, the party raised about $100 million in soft money.
Committee chairman Terence McAuliffe said Democrats would supplement television commercials with local messages delivered via e-mail or direct mail to voters. The DNC has dramatically increased its e-mail capacity and hopes to send 10 million messages a week by 2004.
