Karl Rove backing high-tech central campaigning tool for the Republican Party

Karl Rove and other top Republicans are reportedly backing a new effort to bring the GOP into the digital age. According to The Wall Street Journal, the Republican National Committee is working with investor Dick Boyce and Sun Microsystems co-founder Scott McNealy on a “digital platform” for campaigning and fundraising. While plans for the project were apparently presented in late February, its goals are apparently still being pinned down. The Journal reports that the “central digital campaign tool” would be meant for use by all Republican candidates and organizations, and that it would be an “interactive platform with multiple applications” to organize and analyze data the GOP collected about voters.

The new venture is likely an attempt to counter Democratic counterparts like Obama’s Narwhal campaign tool, which is widely considered to have trounced Romney’s own Orca in the 2012 election. By creating a centralized platform for campaigning, core Republican leadership may also be attempting to connect with a “Facebook generation” that sees mainline conservative leadership as out of touch and technologically impotent. Besides its technological efforts, it’s also considering holding an earlier National Convention and increasing outreach to minorities or West Coast voters who may be younger and more tech-savvy, revamping the party’s overall strategy after defeats in 2012.