I have not done a Howard County race in a few days and thought that while resting after doing some snow shoveling today, I would put out this evaluation.

Tom Coale did a nice breakdown of races across Howard County (Click here to read it).

We have seven candidates for these two seats. Two Democrats and five Republicans have officially filed. Outreach overall is pretty limited in this race to this point. There were no last minute entries, although one candidate entered the race in early February.

The candidates: To see the list of candidates that have “Officially filed” click here 

Democrat

Walter Carson – No website or social media found.

James Ward Morrow – http://jameswardmorrow.com/ – Lists Facebook and Twitter

Republican

Christopher Eric Bouchat – http://friendsofbouchat.com/ – List no social media outreach

Trent Kittleman – http://trentkittleman.com/ – Found Facebook page

Kyle Lorton – http://kylelorton.com/ – Has a Vimeo page

Warren E. Miller (Delegate District 9A) – Old website found but not sure of its use going forward. No other social media found.

Frank Mirabile – http://frankmirabile.info/ – Lists Facebook and Twitter

The Scorecard: (Click the numbers below to view the social media page)

3/3/14	Website	Facebook	Twitter	Vimeo / YouTube
Walter E. Carson	No	–	–	–
James Ward Morrow	Yes	234	472	–
Christopher Eric Bouchat	Yes	–	–	–
Trent Kittleman	Yes	176	–	–
Kyle Lorton	Yes	Personal Page	–	Yes
Warren E. Miller	No	–	–	–
Frank Mirabile	Yes	211	132	–

Here are my takeaways from the scorecard above:

Again, social media outreach is pretty limited in this race today. Two of the seven candidates do not even have a website, much less any social media outreach that I was able to find.

Carson is the newest entry into the race, so maybe something is coming soon. Time will tell.

Morrow has a decent following on Twitter. He also lists a blog on his website, although there have been no posts yet.

Kittleman should list her Facebook page on her campaign website. It would probably help voters find it easier.

Lorton’s Facebook listing on the campaign page is a personal Facebook account. He should really consider creating a campaign page for followers. He does have a Vimeo page and one video on the website.

I found an old website for Miller. This is the one shared with Delegate Bates. Not sure he will continue to use it going forward now that Bates is running for State Senate and has her own new website for that campaign.

Mirabile has a website but it is still under construction. He does list his social media accounts (Facebook and Twitter) on the page. Nice touch while getting your website put together.

If I had to pick a leader it is obviously Morrow. Twitter followers alone is more than what anyone else has today. Now it is a long race and there are many opportunities for the other candidates to make significant improvements.

 Interested in politics in Howard County? Here is a good HoCoBlogs Twitter list to follow: https://twitter.com/HoCoBlogs/lists/hocomd-elected-officials. There are a number of elected officials and candidates in Howard County to follow on Twitter.

Of course the reality of followers, likes, and subscribers does not mean a lot when it comes down to voting in the end, but it is a fun exercise to do and makes a great resource for following all of these candidates.

Interested in other Technology Scorecards that have been done for other various state races? Check out this summary: Technology Scorecards Summary

Scott E

#HoCoPolitics