Who Exactly Are the Candidates Running for Congress Anyway?

Washington, D.C. (October 20, 2004) - As the busy election season kicks into full gear, Capitol Advantage's Congress.org is ready to provide its customers and the media with the most comprehensive candidate statistics on the market. Capitol Advantage, publisher of the perennial best seller Congress at Your Fingertips®, through its Capwiz™ online advocacy tool is the only company with this data. The company has nearly two decades of bios, statistics, voting records, e-mails and web addresses of elected officials. This vast database provides knowledgeable answers to the question…exactly who are the 1,300+ candidates running for Congress this year anyway?

"We have been watching for trends over the years," remarks Barkley Kern, chief executive officer of Capitol Advantage. "For example, not having elected office experience isn't deterring people from running for Congress. In fact, 49% of the candidates have no prior elected office experience and only 33% have state legislative experience."

"What is interesting about these statistics is that voters can take a holistic view of the election. For those who like to research their options, they now have an inside view from a nonpartisan source," remarks Kern.

Other noteworthy facts:

• 16% of the candidates are women, while women currently make up 14% of the House and 14% of the Senate
• only 19% of the candidates are attorneys, while 37% of the current Members of Congress are attorneys
• 25% have served in the military, while 28% of current Members of Congress have served in the military

Other relevant statistics:

• third party candidates make up almost one third of the candidates
• in 14% of the races the incumbent faces no major party challenger
• 72% of all candidates have Web sites and e-mail
• 83% of Republicans and Democrats have Web sites
• 75% of Republicans and Democrats have e-mail

The candidate statistics are calculated based on a biographical questionnaire sent to every candidate for the U.S. Congress. These statistics are now available at Capitol Advantage's Web site and Congress.org

About Capitol Advantage - www.capitoladvantage.com - www.congress.org
Founded in 1986, Capitol Advantage provides grassroots advocacy products and services to more than 1200 organizations, including some of the nation's largest and most respected portals and media companies as well as trade associations, nonprofit organizations, corporations, educational institutions, and other organizations.

For more information, please contact:

Gioia Albi
Capitol Advantage, LLC
703-289-4670