Jim Webb’s Nascent Presidential Campaign Runs Into Domain Name Problems

Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb talks with employees during a tour of the Rippey Wind Farm, Monday, June 15, 2015, in Grand Junction, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
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Another day, another presidential candidate who hasn’t done his domain name homework. Former U.S. Senator Jim Webb (D-VA), who triumphantly announced his White House run via Twitter Thursday, didn’t register JimWebb.com ahead of his candidacy.

Those heading to JimWebb.com to find out more about his platform saw advertisements for web design lessons, or “webb” design lessons, instead.
The domain appears to be operated by a D.C.-based web developer named Jim who offers tutorials on Internet programming.

Webb, the Democratic presidential candidate, has settled on Webb2016.com for his campaign website. He is not the first White House contender who did not secure the URL bearing his or her name. Ex-HP exec Carly Fiorina, a GOP 2016er, caught flack when CarlyFiorina.org led to a page that highlighted the HP employees laid off under her tenure. TedCruz.com, referring to the firebrand senator from Texas also running for the Republican nom, directs to a page that reads, “Support President Obama. Immigration Reform Now!”

Meanwhile, it does not goes unnoticed when variations of domain names only vaguely related to a potential campaign are aggressively bought up. Buzzfeed reported in April that almost every imaginable Chelsea Clinton-associated domain name was registered ahead of the announcement that her mother, Hillary Clinton, was running for president.

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