I think the first real internet candidate was Howard Dean. He was some nobody Democrat in 2004 election and surged to the top through online donations and ended up eclipsing John Kerry early on. Then the media all turned their guns on him and made him look like a deranged lunatic, especially after his "BYAHHH!" incident. Same thing happened to Ron Paul in 08 and 12, and what happened to Bernie in '16. And of course the same thing happened to Trump, but he was able to just power through it
I think the first real internet candidate was Howard Dean. He was some nobody Democrat in 2004 election and surged to the top through online donations and ended up eclipsing John Kerry early on. Then the media all turned their guns on him and made him look like a deranged lunatic, especially after his "BYAHHH!" incident. Same thing happened to Ron Paul in 08 and 12, and what happened to Bernie in '16. And of course the same thing happened to Trump, but he was able to just power through it