Nate Silver observes that political contributions from employees at tech companies like Google and Apple overwhelmingly favored Obama in the most recent election cycle. He goes on to make a reasonable assumption that tech professionals willing to donate to a campaign are more likely to volunteer or work for that campaign. That’s not to say that nobody in tech votes Republican, but Democrats likely have a deeper bench of geek talent from which to draw upon when campaign season rolls around again.
If Republicans hope to stay competitive in the long term, they’d better figure out how to close this talent gap. They might start with rediscovering science and silencing the truly stupid know-nothings in their ranks. And while Democrats have established themselves as the masters of the data-driven campaign, they need to demonstrate that they can bring their geek fu to bear in mid-term elections.
