Mining for votes

With polls showing a Democratic lead, Republicans are using technology to target prospective supporters ever more precisely | Susan Olasky

MICHIGAN— When Susie Q. Voter leaves Wal-Mart pushing a shopping cart loaded with Dr. Pepper, Ozarka water, and Coors beer toward her Ford Explorer, she is likely to vote Republican. When Jane Doe heads to her Volvo from Whole Foods with a cartload of Pepsi, Evian water, and Budweiser, she will probably vote Democratic.

Farfetched? Maybe, but that's what GOP political consultants who prize data mining, the sophisticated connecting of disparate bits of information, predict—and with pundits and pollsters forecasting a Democratic tsunami, Republicans hope that data mining will give them a 4 percent to 5 percent election bump on Nov. 7. The GOP plans to "microtarget" Susie with advertising, phone calls, and even neighborly pressure, hoping that she will go to the polls—and to ignore Jane, hoping she will stay home.