Political figures are often subjected to intense public scrutiny, and they often make national and international headlines for their decisions, speeches, and opinions. Owning their own name as a .COM domain name should be a priority for politicians to allow the public and the media to access information directly from the source.
However, it seems that many politicians don't own their own domain names, despite the number of advantages it can bring. Earlier this year, Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul paid over $100,000 for RandPaul.com, but it seems that others aren't as interested in owning their names, relying on social media instead. Here are five examples of politicians who don't own their own domain.
1. Jeb Bush - JebBush.com
The JebBush.com domain name made headlines on Monday as it was revealed that JebBush.com had started forwarding to DonaldJTrump.com. Gizmodo, Engadget, The Verge, and Time.com all had articles on the domain name, written with varying degrees of awareness.
The domain name is under privacy and is not affiliated with Jeb Bush's presidential campaign that uses Jeb2016.com instead. JebBush.com has an Alexa ranking of just over 1 million in the United States, so it does receive some type-in traffic - even before yesterday's articles.
Mr. Bush has 388,000 Twitter followers on his @JebBush account, but according to WHOIS records, he has never owned JebBush.com. Incidentally, Jeb.com is owned by Anything.com Ltd.
2. Ted Cruz - TedCruz.com
Another Republican candidate, Ted Cruz, hosts his campaign website on TedCruz.org. Earlier this year, many media outlets covered the fact that Ted Cruz doesn't own TedCruz.com, but it looks like he hasn't done anything to rectify the situation.
There has been no UDRP filing, and the domain name remains under privacy protection that could make contacting the domain name's registrant difficult for Mr. Cruz's campaign staff, who may not be familiar with using WHOIS History tools for research.
As of writing, TedCruz.com displays a simple message created using GoDaddy's website builder. The website contains a message saying, "Support President Obama. Immigration Reform Now!" Ted Cruz's campaign team may not be comfortable having this message on the prime domain name for their Republican candidate, especially considering its United States Alexa ranking of 112,000.
3. Jim Gilmore - JimGilmore.com
GilmoreForAmerica.com is the home of Jim Gilmore's Presidential campaign. This Republican candidate doesn't own JimGilmore.com, but it is being put to legitimate use. The domain currently displays the homepage of Dr. Jim Gilmore, a cosmetic surgeon from Dallas, Texas.
I'm sure that Jim Gilmore's campaign team have been in contact with Dr. Gilmore to try to acquire the domain name at some point, but the domain remains firmly in the possession of the Doctor.
4. Paul Ryan - PaulRyan.com
The current Speaker for the US House of Representatives is making headlines today for his succinct response to Donald Trump's call to ban all Muslims from entering the USA.
Mr. Ryan has over 4 million Likes on Facebook and over 500,000 followers on Twitter; that is more than many current Presidential candidates. (Jeb Bush has 300,000 Facebook Likes and 388,000 Twitter followers for example).
However, Paul doesn't own PaulRyan.com. It currently redirects to a website called Everest Music based in Ireland, and it looks as though the owner of Everest Music is also called Paul Ryan.
Paul Ryan currently hosts his website on the generic speaker.gov domain name.
Other Worthy Mentions:
Although these domain names aren't .COM's, they are still interesting to note, mainly due to their content.
ChrisChristie.diet - This innovative use of a new gTLD domain is the home of the unofficial Chris Christie diet. The tongue in cheek website was set up earlier this year.
CarlyFiorina.org - You've most likely read about this domain name in the news earlier this year. After Carly Fiorina's campaign team failed to register it, the domain went viral due to displaying a message regarding the amount of people she laid off during her time as Hewlett Packard's CEO.
However, it seems that many politicians don't own their own domain names, despite the number of advantages it can bring. Earlier this year, Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul paid over $100,000 for RandPaul.com, but it seems that others aren't as interested in owning their names, relying on social media instead. Here are five examples of politicians who don't own their own domain.
1. Jeb Bush - JebBush.com
The JebBush.com domain name made headlines on Monday as it was revealed that JebBush.com had started forwarding to DonaldJTrump.com. Gizmodo, Engadget, The Verge, and Time.com all had articles on the domain name, written with varying degrees of awareness.
The domain name is under privacy and is not affiliated with Jeb Bush's presidential campaign that uses Jeb2016.com instead. JebBush.com has an Alexa ranking of just over 1 million in the United States, so it does receive some type-in traffic - even before yesterday's articles.
Mr. Bush has 388,000 Twitter followers on his @JebBush account, but according to WHOIS records, he has never owned JebBush.com. Incidentally, Jeb.com is owned by Anything.com Ltd.
2. Ted Cruz - TedCruz.com
Another Republican candidate, Ted Cruz, hosts his campaign website on TedCruz.org. Earlier this year, many media outlets covered the fact that Ted Cruz doesn't own TedCruz.com, but it looks like he hasn't done anything to rectify the situation.
There has been no UDRP filing, and the domain name remains under privacy protection that could make contacting the domain name's registrant difficult for Mr. Cruz's campaign staff, who may not be familiar with using WHOIS History tools for research.
As of writing, TedCruz.com displays a simple message created using GoDaddy's website builder. The website contains a message saying, "Support President Obama. Immigration Reform Now!" Ted Cruz's campaign team may not be comfortable having this message on the prime domain name for their Republican candidate, especially considering its United States Alexa ranking of 112,000.
3. Jim Gilmore - JimGilmore.com
GilmoreForAmerica.com is the home of Jim Gilmore's Presidential campaign. This Republican candidate doesn't own JimGilmore.com, but it is being put to legitimate use. The domain currently displays the homepage of Dr. Jim Gilmore, a cosmetic surgeon from Dallas, Texas.
I'm sure that Jim Gilmore's campaign team have been in contact with Dr. Gilmore to try to acquire the domain name at some point, but the domain remains firmly in the possession of the Doctor.
4. Paul Ryan - PaulRyan.com
The current Speaker for the US House of Representatives is making headlines today for his succinct response to Donald Trump's call to ban all Muslims from entering the USA.
Mr. Ryan has over 4 million Likes on Facebook and over 500,000 followers on Twitter; that is more than many current Presidential candidates. (Jeb Bush has 300,000 Facebook Likes and 388,000 Twitter followers for example).
However, Paul doesn't own PaulRyan.com. It currently redirects to a website called Everest Music based in Ireland, and it looks as though the owner of Everest Music is also called Paul Ryan.
Paul Ryan currently hosts his website on the generic speaker.gov domain name.
Other Worthy Mentions:
Although these domain names aren't .COM's, they are still interesting to note, mainly due to their content.
ChrisChristie.diet - This innovative use of a new gTLD domain is the home of the unofficial Chris Christie diet. The tongue in cheek website was set up earlier this year.
CarlyFiorina.org - You've most likely read about this domain name in the news earlier this year. After Carly Fiorina's campaign team failed to register it, the domain went viral due to displaying a message regarding the amount of people she laid off during her time as Hewlett Packard's CEO.
