Va. Primary Upset Shows 'Google Blasting' Works

Creigh Deeds owes a debt to Google after his surprising come-from-behind win in this week's Virginia Democratic gubernatorial primary. Starting the day before the election, Derek Thompson writes for the Atlantic, Deeds’ campaign employed “Google Blasting, an eleventh-hour strategy to blanket Google-affiliated webpages in an area with a single ad campaign to impact voters' final decision.” And he’s not the only one.

The technique also helped Kirsten Gillibrand’s successor score his upset victory in the race for her Congressional seat, prompting Thompson to wonder if it’s “goodbye robocalls, hello Google surges?” The tactic is “like dispatching thousands of volunteers to paper entire districts with fliers, minus the eye-sore and littering,” and it’s likely here to stay. “It's just one more reason to either fear Google or learn to appreciate its awesome power.” (More Creigh Deeds stories.)