Dartmouth Jr. Wins Local Election Using FaceBook Ads

This is amazing. A student at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire ran for Country Treasurer and rode the Obama wave to victory using $50 in Facebook ads targeting students at Dartmouth and nearby Plymouth State University. She won by just 586 votes.

Her opponent was not happy:

The current county treasurer, Carol Elliott, 68, called Ms. Sievers, 20, a “teenybopper” in an interview with a local newspaper, The Valley News, and said she had won only because “brainwashed college kids” had voted for the Democratic ticket.

That's sure to get young people in New Hampshire flocking to the GOP standard in 2010 . . . And here's another great comment from the country Republican chairman:

The county Republican chairman, Ludlow Flower, however, does not think that new media or college students belong in a county race.

“College students are not involved in local things at all,” Mr. Flower said. “They’re only involved in Dartmouth College. They don’t buy property here, they don’t pay taxes here, so they’re not concerned with how the treasury is handled.”

As my friend who tipped me to this story said - it's good to see the Republicans going back to the time-honored tradition of only allowing landed gentry to run for office.

I'm waiting on the Young Elected Officials Network to get me data on more young people who were elected to office this year. I'm hoping we hear a lot more stories like this: young people using new media and their social networks to jump-start their political careers at the local level.

How crazy is that . . . $50 in Facebook ads . . .