What I think are some interesting stats from Facebook pages:

Candidates:

Susan Bartlett for Governor: 4 Supporters

http://www.facebook.com/pages/…

Doug Racine (Politician): 84 Supporters

http://www.facebook.com/search…

Deb Markowitz (Politician): 239 Supporters

http://www.facebook.com/search…

Brian Dubie for Vermont Governor: 260 Members

http://www.facebook.com/search…

Parties:

Vermont Democrats: 115 Members

http://www.facebook.com/search…

Vermont Progressive Party: 160 Members

http://www.facebook.com/search…

Vermont Republican Party: 198 Fans

http://www.facebook.com/search…

Other Groups of Interest:

Green Mountain Daily: 144 Members

http://www.facebook.com/search…

1000 Vermonters for Change: 237 Members

http://www.facebook.com/search…

Vermonters Calling on Douglas Not to Veto Same Sex Marriage: 16,046 Members

http://www.facebook.com/search…

So what does this mean, if anything? Even though some of the members of the Vermonters Calling on Douglas Not to Veto Same Sex Marriage group are from out of state, the potential is obviously there to build a very large group of supporters on Facebook (which should then be used as a TOOL to fundraise, organize field activities, etc).

Why are the Republicans out-numbering us in supporters on Facebook? Should the liberal/progressive Parties and Candidates hire someone to specificly coordinate their online social networking (which would also include twitter, blogs, etc), or at least make it a higher priority for their Communication Director to deal with? Does any of this have an impact on the actual elections?