Not only is Trump's campaign broke, he's eschewing the very data-driven technology that nearly every other politician in the nation longs to have access to. It's unclear whether Trump's just too cheap to invest in it or he doesn't believe in it (because, ya know, science and all), but regardless, it's hamstringing the Republican Party’s effort to win the White House, reports Thomas Beaumont:
"[Clinton's] been able to prepare a general election campaign since the beginning," said Alex Lundry, former senior technology adviser to Mitt Romney's 2012 Republican presidential campaign. "That head start in terms of time is extraordinarily valuable."
Precision digital-marketing data, a person's online footprints, have become an electoral science that Democrats have dominated, and Republicans have chased, for a decade. Campaigns used the data at first simply to track supporters. The information now guides a range of decisions, like the types and volume of advertising, where to deploy campaign staff to mobilize voters and where a candidate should visit.
Trump has called such data "overrated" and Rick Wiley, a key advocate within his ranks for beefing up the technology was recently canned. But don't worry, GOP fans: Even if Trump leaves you light years behind the Democratic party, you'll have something to remind you of all the good times.
Trump spent more than $1 million in April on campaign paraphernalia like caps, T-shirts and signs. Even as he was effectively seizing the nomination, he spent less than a third of that amount on data and related functions such as telemarketing.