Democratic Senator Barack Obama and Republican Senator John McCain Named as Top Picks for Tech in 2008

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, leading technology blog TechCrunch endorsed Democratic Senator Barack Obama and Republican Senator John McCain as the top “Tech President” contenders in the 2008 U.S. Presidential elections. The endorsements follow a series of digital policy-themed interviews TechCrunch founder and editor Michael Arrington conducted with many of the Presidential candidates, as well as a tech primary that TechCrunch opened to the blog’s readership in late December 2007 (http://primaries.techcrunch.com).

“Senator McCain’s straight talk and candor in his interview with me impressed the TechCrunch audience”

“In an effort to elevate discussion around digital policy in the 2008 presidential election, TechCrunch is endorsing Senators Barack Obama and John McCain as the leading ‘Tech President’ candidates for this year’s Presidential election,” said Michael Arrington, founder and co-editor of TechCrunch. “The blog’s editors, readership and affiliates have concluded that in an era of great partisanship Senators Obama and McCain best reflect the policies, core values and global vision to advocate for technology-based businesses, both large and small, should either candidate be elected President of the United States.”

Digital Policy Issues Important to TechCrunch Readers

The TechCrunch audience identified ten digital policy issues as the technology industry’s leading considerations for the 2008 presidential election. These policy categories, framing the foundation for the “Tech President” endorsements, include:

Technology Education
Immigration and H1B Visas
The Digital Divide
Identity Theft
Mobile Spectrum Auctions and Rules
China
Internet Taxes
Net Neutrality
Intellectual Property
Renewable Energy

TechCrunch Endorses Candidate Barack Obama

TechCrunch endorses Senator Barack Obama as the Democratic ticket Tech President candidate in the 2008 Presidential election. Senator Obama won the TechCrunch Primary poll with 61% of the total vote for Democratic candidates.

“Senator Barack Obama is a tech-savvy, popular candidate in Silicon Valley and with the TechCrunch audience,” said Arrington. “He supports mainstream, pro-technology policies such as more ubiquitous broadband Internet access and delivering technology to schools, keeping the Internet tax free, increasing the H1-B visa program, and making big investments in renewable energy. Importantly, Senator Obama has effectively utilized the Internet in his campaign to connect to younger and disenfranchised voters to bring them into the process of this critical election.”

TechCrunch Endorses Candidate John McCain

TechCrunch endorses Senator John McCain as the Republican ticket Tech President candidate in the 2008 Presidential election. Senator McCain was the second choice, following Congressman Ron Paul, in the TechCrunch Primary poll with 16% of the total vote for Republican candidates.

“Senator McCain’s straight talk and candor in his interview with me impressed the TechCrunch audience,” said Arrington. “While he is aligned with many of the policies supported by leading technologists and tech business owners, it is John McCain’s life story and global perspective that may hold the most value to the technology industry should he become our President. Navigating important technology markets like China and India will require the type of experienced and courageous leadership that John McCain is uniquely qualified to provide."

Crunching the Candidates

The TechCrunch primary poll captured 15,734 votes. The results by candidate are as follows:

Democrats

Barack Obama 61% of votes

John Edwards 26% of votes

Mike Gravel 7% of votes

Hillary Clinton 6% of votes

Republicans

Ron Paul 74% of votes

John McCain 16% of votes

Mike Huckabee 5% of votes

Mitt Romney 3% of votes

Rudy Giuliani 1% of votes

About TechCrunch

Founded in 2005, TechCrunch is a leading technology blog dedicated to obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies. In addition to covering new companies, TechCrunch profiles existing companies that are making a commercial or cultural impact on the new Web space. TechCrunch is co-edited by Michael Arrington and Erick Schonfeld. TechCrunch is the flagship property of the Crunch Network, which delivers 10 million page views per month from more than a dozen blogs and other websites focused on various technology verticals and geographies.

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