A tracker is a person who surveils and records political candidates. While usually passive, they occasionally shout questions.[1][2] Trackers are employed by rival campaigns, particularly in important races, to follow opponents in the hope of catching them in a gaffe, an inconsistency, or an embarrassing moment, as a part of opposition research.[2] Trackers typically are low-level employees in a campaign, often 20-somethings in their first job after college.[3]
The term first entered popular culture in the 2006 George Allen incident when a tracker recorded the incumbent Virginia senator using a racial slur, which contributed to his failure to win re-election.[2] But trackers were being used in 2002 when Phil Press, one of the earliest ones, followed Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Ed Rendell and videotaped him falling asleep during an African-American Chamber of Commerce event. While embarrassed by a story of his napping on the front page of a Pennsylvania newspaper, during Rendell's 2006 re-election bid, the campaign hired Press to train a team of trackers to follow Rendell's opponent.[3]
As a result of tracking, campaigns have responded by limiting access to public and private campaign events, and candidates themselves have had to become more disciplined, knowing that they are being constantly being monitored and recorded.[4]
The group America Rising, founded in 2012, works for Republican campaigns to track Democratic candidates. In 2018, the Minnesota Post reported that American Bridge 21st Century, a liberal political action committee, had more than 40 trackers in the field.[2]
In 2017, a tracker hired by American Bridge 21st Century, trespassed to enter a private country club to record a speech given by state senator and gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner. Wagner confronted the tracker, announcing, "You're about to see your senator in action" before grabbing the tracker's camera equipment and smacking the cell phone held near his face. The attorney general's office declined to prosecute either man.[5]
NPR reported that in 2018, video or audio recordings had influenced six congressional and gubernatorial races in four U.S. states, as well as local contests.[6]
In 2024, the Bernie Moreno campaign admitted using anti-recording technology to deter the efforts of trackers at its campaign events.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Metzger, Bryan. "Ohio GOP candidate in key Senate race uses anti-recording tech to combat 'trackers'". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
- ^ a b c d Callaghan, Peter (2018-09-17). "How the 'tracker' became strangest, most important job in campaign politics". MinnPost. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
- ^ a b McKelvey, Wallace (May 9, 2017). "How trackers quietly document politicians". Newspapers.com. The Patriot-News. p. 10. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ Terris, Ben (October 14, 2014). "Tracking the trackers: What it's like to have the most mind-numbing job in a campaign". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Esack, Steve (July 14, 2017). "Wagner, 'tracker', won't be charged in scuffle". Newspapers.com. The Morning Call. p. A5. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
- ^ Rosenthal, Lauren (August 16, 2018). "Local Candidates Are The Subject Of Political Tracking, Too". National Public Radio. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
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