GOP candidate for treasurer to launch iPhone app

As suburban candidates ramp up social media strategies, a downstate Republican appears to be at the forefront of a new trend.

State Sen. Dan Rutherford, a Republican candidate for treasurer, plans to announce next week the latest addition to his "e-campaign" - an iPhone/iPad app that can be downloaded for free.

Rutherford, a business outreach director with Service Master Co., has made social media a cornerstone of his campaign - even announcing his candidacy via Twitter and Facebook.

Rutherford has more than 6,800 Facebook fans. His campaign car, nicknamed "Pongee," has its own page with another 1,000 fans.

Rutherford said his friend Brian Peterlin, founder of CommonMan Innovative Technologies Inc. of downstate Peru, developed the app after approaching him with the idea last winter.

"I said I'm interested in it, but what does it take? Is it a time eater, or something that we can maintain and keep fresh and interesting?" Rutherford said.

The app aims to consolidate the campaign's various components - video, Facebook, Twitter, news releases, fundraising information - into one page with multiple menu opportunities.

Rutherford called the iPhone app "another arrow in the campaign's quiver."

While maintaining a Facebook page and Twitter feeds have become de rigueur for political candidates seeking to get their message out, Rutherford is one of the first area candidates to have his own app developed.

Nationally, Doug MacGinnitie, a Republican running to be Georgia's secretary of state, has an iPhone app that provides information about his campaign and helps supporters donate money. It's been downloaded roughly 200 times, he said.

Minnesota House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, who's running to be the Democratic nominee for governor, has an app that lets people follow her calendar, read news releases, familiarize themselves with her background and make campaign contributions.

Apple says it doesn't keep track of how many campaign apps - or any other kind of app - are among the roughly 225,000 in its app store. While the company refuses to disclose the specifics of its vetting process, it did say a political app needs to come directly from the campaign, and its primary purpose cannot be to attack another candidate.

Daily Herald news services contributed to this report.