Mitt Romney turns to data-mining to locate potential wealthy donors

This year’s presidential election has been marked by a dramatic increase of technology on the compaign trail as mobile apps, Xbox 360 hubs, and more are used to drive awareness and communicate with voters. The heavy tech push isn’t party-specific: both Democrats and Republicans have put a lot of effort into establishing an online presence. According to the Associated Press, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has even taken a route that is usually reserved for companies looking to locate and understand potential customers: data-mining.

Since June, the Romney Campaign has been working with analytics firm Buxton Co. to find wealthy Republicans across the United States who may make for potential donors. In fact, an early data analysis identified thousands of people (from a sample of about two million California houesholds) who would be “comfortably able and inclined” to donate at least $2,500 in support of Romney. The legally-obtained data likely includes information given away by individuals when signing up for services or using products — the details of which are usually buried under lengthy Customer Agreements and Terms of Service.